Chicago Bulls’ Joakim Noah gets injured; Pulls out of 2012 London Olympics - NBA Update
Joakim Noah, the Chicago Bulls centre will not play for France at the 2012 London Olympics.
The French national has revealed that the ankle injury he sustained during the playoffs is still bothering him and as such he does not feel confident in representing his country at the four year extravaganza.
Talking to L'Equipe newspaper, Joakim said that the injury has restricted his movement.
'I'm absolutely not ready,'' Noah said. ''Not ready to run, not ready to jump. And even less to play.''
The news comes as a good omen for the Chicago Bulls, who suffered a lot with injuries last season, with the most serious blow coming in the form of Derrick Rose ACL injury. Rose got injured in the first game of the playoffs against
the Philadelphia 76ers and is expected to miss a major chunk of action next season.
Luol Deng has an injured wrist, but he is going through with his plans to represent the British basketball contingent at the London Olympics. If the forward does undergo a surgery, he can also be out for at least a month and the
Bulls will need all their remaining resources to be fit and ready.
Noah sprained his ankle in the game 3 of first round series. Noah received the injury midway through the 3rd stanza when he tripped over Andre Iguodala’s foot while driving through the lane.
He missed the next three games and the 27-year-old has been rehabbing under the supervision of his personnel trainer Alex Perris since then.
The player has now decided that he will need more time to recover. Noah said that not playing in Olympics seems like the most appropriate decision at this time.
"I'm not in the form of someone bidding to compete in the Olympics," he said. "And given the problems that I have with my ankles, not going to the Olympics seemed to be the most reasonable decision."
France will announce the 12 player’s squad on Thursday and this will be the second blow that they have received within the last 10 days. San Antonio Spurs superstar Tony Parker is also shaky for the final lineup due to corneal
laceration in his left eye. He suffered the injury during a brawl that involved rappers Chris Brown and Drake.
However Noah believed that his absence will not be missed as the French roster has players capable of replacing him.
"The team is not just me," Noah said. "I know there are other guys who can do a good job”.
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