Toronto Raptors forward Andrea Bargnani out for the season with left calf injury - NBA Update
Defeats and injuries have been two regular visitors for the Toronto Raptors this season. The only Canadian franchise in NBA is cemented in the lower half of the Eastern Conference with 21 wins and 39 losses. Now with only seven games to go in the season, the Raps have decided to shut down their star forward Andrea Bargnani to prevent further damage to his strained left calf.
The injury prone Italian forward has averaged 19.5 points, 5.5 rebounds and 2.0 assists in 31 games this season. He suffered a reoccurrence calf injury in the 1st half of the game against Oklahoma City Thunder on Sunday night and hasn’t played since then.
The forward initially suffered the injury on January 11th in a match against Sacramento Kings. He had missed 11 games back then. Now with the re-emergence of symptoms the franchise has taken the decision to protect their potential superstar. It is expected that the forward will have to undertake a surgery for his injured calf but that decision will be taken after further medical examinations.
The Raps are already shorthanded. Amir Johnson is labouring with a sore back and Linas Kleiza is struggling on court with sore left knee. Moreover Jerryd Bayless has been sidelined due to torn left oblique and Jose Calderon has also been missing action due to right eye contusion.
With nothing put pride left to salvage from yet another disappointing season, the Raps are taking no chances. Bargnani is the building block around which they plan to build the team and with a good draft pick expected later this year, it makes a lot of sense to plan for future seasons. Talking about the Bargnani situation, Coach Dwane Casey said;
“The injury is still there, and (with) the risk of him continuing to play and injuring it again, possibly tearing it ... our organization’s decision is to get it well completely. Rest is the only way you’re going to do it in this league, and recovery time is even less this year than what it has been in years past”.
The coach hoped that the next season will be another matter and with the top scorers back in action they will be able to put up a winning show.
“Next year is a different animal. The things that we probably miss games for now can’t happen during the season next year.”
Since the time Bargnani first got injured, he has missed 28 games and that really hurt the Raps. They have a good arsenal of sharpshooters, but with Bargnani’s departure, there was nobody to control the game on the glass effectively. Still, since Casey took over, the Raps have shown shades of brilliance and a fit Bargnani will only make them more lethal.
Tags: