Getty Danilo Gallinari #8 of the Atlanta Hawks.
Danilo Gallinari gave Boston Celtics fans quite the scare when he suffered a non-contact knee injury during the 2022 EuroBasket tournament. Gallinari lucked out that his ACL was intact and that he suffered no ligament damage. However, his knee did not go unscathed, as it was later confirmed by Shams Charania that he tore his meniscus.
So while Gallinari avoided the worst possible outcome, the next step was knowing when exactly he would return to the court to make his debut for the Celtics. On August 29, 2022, Sportando reported how much time Gallinari was slated to miss.
Danilo Gallinari reportedly to miss Boston Celtics’ training camp
In that very report, Alessandro Maggi of Sportando said that Gallinari would make his debut for the Celtics sometime in November.
“Danilo Gallinari will be missing for at least two months after the injury with Italian National Team. Gallinari will not take part (in) Boston Celtics’ training camp and will return (to) the court in November as reported by Italian press.”
Although Sportando was the first to report when Gallinari could make his return, some reporters were skeptical of the timetable they presented.
Keith Smith Says the Celtics Medical Staff Would Know Best
After the reports from Sportando came out, Keith Smith of CelticsBlog said the best way the public will know for sure will be after the Celtics’ medical staff examines his knee, but also voiced his optimism that Gallinari’s injury won’t hold him out for too long.
“I’ve seen some reports out of Italy that say Danilo Gallinari will be out until sometime in November. I’d caution reading too much into that until we have a better idea when Gallinari is examined by the Celtics’ medical staff. But it looks hopeful this won’t be a long-term injury.”
I’ve seen some reports out of Italy that say Danilo Gallinari will be out until sometime in November.
I’d caution reading too much into that until we have a better idea when Gallinari is examined by the Celtics medial staff. But it looks hopeful this won’t be a long-term injury.
When Gallinari first suffered the injury, many thought right away that it was an ACL tear with how awkwardly Gallinari’s knee bent and how quickly he reacted to the injury.
Danilo Gallinari injury
#Gallinari #ITAGEO
It was also easier to believe the worst about his knee injury on that play because Gallinari has been injury-prone throughout his entire career. That started at the very beginning with his first team, the New York Knicks. Gallinari has also played 70 or more games only twice in his NBA career but has played 60 or more games in three of the last four seasons.
As Smith said above, the early reports sound optimistic that Gallinari’s meniscus tear will not hold him out for an extended period. Nonetheless, Gallinari himself sounded pretty disappointed about what’s happened.
Gallinari Sounds Off on Injury
After it had been confirmed that Gallinari had torn his meniscus, he took to Twitter to express how he felt about the situation.
The Twitter user “Bob Williams 2023 DPOY” translated Gallinari’s words into English. In essence, Gallinari expressed his disappointment that he won’t be able to play going forward in the tournament but will be cheering his teammates on throughout the rest of EuroBasket.
@gallinari8888 For the English speakers:
Gallinari is acting as any good teammate would in his situation. While he’s heartbroken he won’t be able to play for Italy for the rest of the Summer, he’ll still be there to encourage his guys every game from there on out.
While his play in the EuroBasket tournament was cut short, all indications are that, as of now, that won’t be the case with the Celtics.