By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
Major injury blow for Fenerbahce Beko as French star Nando de Colo will be reevaluated in three weeks, the Turkish team announced Monday.
de Colo, 34, picked up a left calf injury during the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season Round 31 contest against Bitci Baskonia at Vitoria-Gasteiz last Wednesday. Besides missing the second half of the double-game week, the Round 32 visit to FC Barcelona, and weekend domestic action, he underwent an MRI and was ruled out for at least the next three weeks.
The Istanbul outfit, sitting a 9-15 and 3.5 games outside the EuroLeague Playoffs zone, will host ALBA Berlin on March 29, FC Bayern Munich on April 4, and Panathinaikos OPAP on April 8 without the French guard, former NBA player as a member of the San Antonio Spurs and Toronto Raptors. The last game of the Regular Season schedule is on the road opposite Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv on April 13. Winning all four remaining games seems a necessity in order to squeeze into the top eight seeds awarding a berth in the Playoffs.
Averaging 11.9 points, 3.8 assists, 2.2 rebounds, 1.3 steals, and 0.2 blocks per game make out de Colo’s contribution so far in the 2021-22 edition of Europe’s premier club continental competition, his third campaign as a member of Fener and ninth overall in his career. The two-time EuroLeague champion with CSKA Moscow has added 16.0 points, 5.1 assists, and 2.2 rebounds per contest over nine appearances in Turkey’s BSL.
Photo Credit: EuroLeagueBasketball.net