By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Panionios Cosmorama Travel announced medical tests revealing an anterior cruciate ligament tear for Michalis Lountzis on Wednesday. The 27-year-old Greek combo guard will undergo surgery.
Lountzis will be sidelined for at least six months, which means he is likely to sit out the remainder of the 2025-26 season.
Returning to BKT EuroCup and the second tier of Euroleague Basketball following his spell with Promitheas in the 2020-21 season, he averaged 10.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, 3.0 assists, and 1.8 steals per contest over four games, including three starts. He also put in 12.8 points, 5.2 rebounds, and 1.7 assists per game in Greece’s Stoiximan GBL Regular Season.
The Athens native previously suffered a torn cruciate ligament in 2019, playing at Lavrio Aegean Cargo on loan from Panathinaikos.
Besides a total of 14 EuroCup appearances, Loutzis made his way to 52 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague games with Panathinaikos in 2015 and Olympiacos between 2021 and 2024. Last season, he logged 12 Basketball Champions League appearances with Promitheas Vikos Cola, and previously suited up in two FIBA Europe Cup games with Lavrio. Domestically, he has been part of three Greek League championship teams in 2017, 2022, and 2023.
Representing Greece in FIBA tournaments, he went from a successful junior career, including gold medals in the FIBA U20 European Championship 2017 and FIBA U18 European Championship 2015, to displaying his talents in the FIBA World Cup 2023 and EuroBasket 2022, besides more caps in World Cup and EuroBasket Qualifiers since 2018.