Getty Italy's Danilo Gallinari looks for a pass past France's Nicolas Batum.
The Boston Celtics‘ prized free agent addition Danilo Gallinari came to the team with a long list of injuries to his name since his NBA career started with the New York Knicks. In the 14 years he’s played in the NBA, Gallinari has crossed the 70-game plateau only twice and hasn’t crossed it since the 2012-13 season. It appears that his injury-prone days are not long gone, as Gallinari has apparently suffered a knee injury against Georgia during the 2022 EuroBasket Tournament.
Danilo Gallinari knee injury 🇮🇹 🏀
#ITAGEO #Italia #FIBAWC2023 #FIBAWCQ #eurobasket2022
Details have not been released regarding how serious the injury is or what his timetable could be, but the knee injury was bad enough that teammates had to help Gallinari off of the floor.
After Gallinari suffered the injury, it did not take long for the Celtics’ fanbase to assume the worst.
Twitter Reacts to Gallinari’s Injury
When news broke about the injury, Celtics fans were very displeased to see that Gallinari’s season may very well already be over before it began.
Others pointed out that the Celtics will still be paying him million just for him to potentially sit on the sidelines all season.
@StoolGreenie Getting paid millions for the Celtics just to get hurt in FIBA 🚮
Others tried to be a little more optimistic that perhaps the injury was not as bad as it may have looked.
No one will know for sure what the full extent of Gallinari’s injury is until a diagnosis comes out. Since his injury, there have been pictures After Italy beat Georgia, Gallinari was photographed in the locker room congratulating teammates with his left knee wrapped up.
In the past, previous Celtics have suffered what looked like very bad injuries, only for them to turn out to be minor afflictions that would not affect them long-term. During the 2010-111 season, Kevin Garnett looked like he may have blown his knee out in a game against the Detroit Pistons. Garnett’s knee bent awkwardly before going up for a dunk, then proceeded to hobble after the play was done.
It then came out that Garnett suffered a calf strain and would only miss two weeks. This was also a scary moment since Garnett had suffered a knee injury two seasons back that not only knocked him out for the rest of the season but made him act in a similar way when he initially suffered the injury.
Gallinari’s injury may or may not be as bad as it looked, but the initial report coming from his coach is not promising.
Gallinari May Have Torn His ACL
According to Italian reporter Cesare Melanti, Italy’s coach Gianmarco Pozzecco feels that Gallinari may have torn his anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
“I hope and I pray that nothing bad will come out. It was… it is an honor coaching him. I saw pain in his eyes”, he said.
🇮🇹 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 was… it is an honor coaching him. I saw pain in his eyes”, he said.
Nothing is official as of now, but knowing Gallinari had to be helped off the floor, and presumably having been looked at by the team’s doctors, it’s not a good sign. If the injury is what Pozzeco fears it could be, it would be very sad knowing that Gallinari grew up a Celtics fan, and not only got his chance to play for them but is also playing on a team vying for a title.
17 year old Danilo Gallinari wearing Celtics green jumpsuit. (2005)
Celtics were his favorite NBA team as a kid, and 17 years later he is set to become a Boston Celtic.
