Danilo Gallinari could see Boston Celtics debut pushed back a lot further than he would've hoped. The sharpshooter suffered a scary knee injury on Saturday playing for Team Italy in the World Cup Qualifiers.
Danilo Gallinari appears to suffer a non-contact knee injury on this play.
Prayers up for Gallo šš½ pic.twitter.com/DT5VRHoB2U
ā ClutchPoints (@ClutchPointsApp) August 27, 2022
No one was around Gallinari. He clearly just felt something go in his knee as he was heading down the floor with the rock and ultimately came to a halt in severe pain. Not a good sign for the Azzurri either because the veteran is one of their best players.
Danilo Gallinari was traded by the Atlanta Hawks to the San Antonio Spurs in the Dejounte Murray dealt but was immediately waived by Gregg Popovich's squad. Under two weeks later, the Celtics signed him to a two-year, $13.3 million deal.
While Gallo is 34 now, he can still be a solid contributor off the bench for Boston. He's a career 38.2% shooter from three-point land and averaged 11.7 points in 66 games in 2021-22.
Based on how much discomfort Danilo Gallinari was in, this injury doesn't look good. One can only hope he didn't tear his ACL because that will surely cost the Italian the entire 2022-23 campaign. Based on the latest from Italy's head coach, however, he believes Gallo did suffer serious damage to the ACL in his left knee. Via Cesare Milanti:
š®š¹ UPDATE: By Gianmarco Pozzecco's words, head coach of Italy, the feeling is that Danilo Gallinari tore his left cruciate ligaments. Nothing official yet. "I hope and I pray that nothing bad will come out. It wasā¦ it is an honor coaching him. I saw pain in his eyes", he said.
ā Cesare Milanti (@cesaremilanti) August 27, 2022
But, Shams Charania also reported his ACL is stable, which is good news:
Initial exams on Celtics forward Danilo Gallinariās left knee show that the ACL is stable, full tests to come with an MRI on Sunday, sources tell @TheAthletic @Stadium. Good early news.
ā Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) August 27, 2022
Boston, as constructed, is still a very strong group that obviously just went to the NBA Finals. But the additions of Malcolm Brogdon and Gallinari were seen as very important ones. It would surely be a crushing blow to the player and the C's if he's unable to play.
Stay tuned for updates on Gallinari's knee.