By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
After sitting out the Final of the 2024 Supercopa Endesa and Round 1 of Spain’s Liga Endesa Regular Season, Mario Hezonja is on track to return to action. However, he is labeled as questionable heading to the opening week of the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
“He had a viral infection last week. He had a high fever and lost a lot of weight. He has already resumed practices but we received good news that he will probably become a father today. He is not here,” mentioned head coach Chus Mateo referring to the viral infection and also sharing personal news about his player.
Los Blancos will face FC Bayern Munich in SAP Garden on Thursday. Besides the 29-year-old Croatian forward considered questionable, the remaining players of the team located in the capital of Spain are available.
“We do not know if we will be able to count on him. We hope he can be here but we are not sure,” added Mateo on Hezonja being able to follow the team to Germany and play in Round 1 of the 2024-25 EuroLeague Regular Season.
During the offseason, Hezonja penned a five-year contract extension. A member of the storied club since 2022, his contributions extended to championship runs across the 2022-23 edition of the EuroLeague, the 2023-24 ACB campaign, the 2024 Copa del Rey, and the 2022 and 2023 Supercopa Endesa.
In the NBA between 2015 and 2020, the native of Dubrovnik logged 336 games played between spells with the Portland Trail Blazers, New York Knicks, and Orlando Magic.