The Boston Celtics‘ prized addition Kristaps Porzingis revealed the full extent of his foot injury. Porzingis not only announced on his X account that he is dealing with plantar fasciitis, but he will miss the entirety of the FIBA World Cup on August 15.
“It is difficult, I feel very responsible to myself and the supporters of the Latvian national team, but a decision has been made that I will not play in the World Cup,” Porzingis wrote, as translated into English. “After several weeks of recovery and a repeat MRI examination, the plantar fasciitis of my foot still prevents me from being on the field in full readiness.”
Porzingis revealed how Latvia and the Celtics factored into his decision not to play.
“This joint decision has been made by both the medical staff and coaching staff of the national team, as well as the Celtics team – with the advice and opinion that it is now necessary to continue the recovery process.
“Such a decision is not easy to make, but I promise that I will be there and support the team as much as I can,” Porzingis wrote. “Our land – Latvia!”
Ir grūti, es jūtos ļoti atbildīgs savu un Latvijas valstsvienības atbalstītāju priekšā, taču ir pieņemts lēmums, ka es nespēlēšu Pasaules kausā.
Pēc vairāku nedēļu atlabšanas procesa un atkārtota MRI izmeklējuma, vēl joprojām pēdas plantārais fascīts man neļauj atrasties uz…
Porzingis did not play any of the games in which Latvia had participated in up until August 15.
Porzingis Not Playing First Announced By BasketNews
The Lithuanian outlet Basketnews.com first reported that Porzingis was not going to play in the FIBA World Cup on August 15.
“For the first time in the history of the country, the national team of Latvia will meet without its biggest star – Kristaps Porzingis is forced to miss the tournament,” Basketnews reported, as translated into English. “The tall player is suffering from a foot injury that will prevent him from recovering before the World Championships.
“Porzingis did not play in any of the Latvian friendly matches. His absence from the World Cup should be officially announced on Wednesday.”
Porzingis came to the Celtics with a reputation for being injury-prone. Porzingis played 65 games for the Washington Wizards during the 2022-23 season, which was the most games he’s played since the 2016-17 season with the New York Knicks, where he played 66 games.
Celtics fans panicked when Porzingis was announced as part of Latvia’s roster for the FIBA World Cup on June 28. While they may not have to worry about his playing leading to injury, the question is whether this foot injury will be an issue heading into the season.
Kristaps Porzingis Injury Called ‘Nothing Too Serious’
Rupert Fabig of the German publication Hamburger Abendblatt was the first to get the news about Porzingis’ foot injury. He reported on August 9 that Porzingis could potentially miss the entire tournament, and the Celtics themselves will have a say in deciding if he gets to play.
“Exclusive: According to my information, there are growing concerns that Latvia star Kristaps #Porzingis might miss the #FIBAWC due to injury. Understood it is something with his foot. Staff, himself, and Boston #Celtics will wait until the last moment to make a decision,” Fabig wrote via his X account on August 9.
Exclusive: According to my information there are growing concerns that Latvia star Kristaps #Porzingis might miss the #FIBAWC due to injury. Understood it is something with his foot. Staff, himself and Boston #Celtics will wait until the last moment to make a decision.
After Dan Greenberg of Barstool Sports expressed his concern on the matter, Fabig added that the foot injury was not considered serious.
“Understood it’s at least nothing too serious because they are still discussing the option of him playing the World Cup,” Fabig wrote.
@StoolGreenie Understood it’s at least nothing too serious because they are still discussing the option of him playing the World Cup.
From that report, it sounds like the injury is not too bad, and Porzingis might be held out simply as a precaution more than anything else.
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Celtics’ Kristaps Porzingis Makes Final Decision on Playing in FIBA Tournament