By Eurohoops team/ info@eurohoops.net
Nemanja Bjelica has already been named captain of the Serbian national team, however, his presence in the upcoming Eurobasket is doubtful due to his thigh injury, sustained during the prep game against Montenegro.
To be exact, during his press conference, Serbian national team coach Svetislav Pesic implied that Bjelica may miss the upcoming FIBA World Cup qualifiers, which include two games with Greece and Turkey, in order to be ready for the Eurobasket which follows next.
Pesic explained: “Bjelica had a tough break, he doesn’t know how he got hurt either. He was put to rest, he won’t travel with the team for the prep game against Slovenia and will stay here. On Saturday or Sunday, he will be re-evaluated. He is a little better today, we’ll see how things go. For us, every day is important, and yet we are not only playing the qualifiers for the FIBA World Cup, but we are also going to the European Championship”.
Serbia will wait until the last moment for Bjelica. “According to FIBA rules, we still have time to register the complete roster for the EuroBasket, so we don’t get too worried. Of course, we are sorry that he was injured, but what can we do? Others get injured too. Everyone from the medical staff is doing everything to help us. Some doctors even came to work at night, we are grateful to them for that”.
Serbia will play the first game for the upcoming Eurobasket on the 2nd of September.