By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
The head coach of Partizan Mozzart Bet, Zeljko Obradovic, updated the status of several of his players dealing with injuries, including Jabari Parker and Aleksej Pokusevski.
The 30-year-old American forward and the 23-year-old Serbian forward were hurt on Sunday, in Round 4 of the AdmiralBet ABA League Regular Season.
“Pokusevski was hit on the head, and he couldn’t continue. Jabari hurt his finger, and it doesn’t look good,” said 65-year-old Obradovic in the postgame press conference following a win versus Borac Mozzart in Belgrade Arena.
Certainly, concerning news for the legendary play-caller heading to the next two-game week on the 2025-26 schedule of the EuroLeague Regular Season. In Round 7, his side faces Hapoel IBI Tel Aviv in Arena 888 Sofia on Wednesday. Bouncing back on Friday, FC Barcelona is the Round 8 opponent in Belgrade Arena.
In addition, Shake Milton seems destined to remain sidelined for the Belgrade outfit with an ankle injury.
“He is in recovery. It’s slow progress,” the Partizan head coach commented on the rehab of the 29-year-old American guard, “We don’t want to take any risks. When he’s fully healthy, he will start running and resume basketball training.”
Carlik Jones has been projected to miss several more months, and Mario Nakic is also out.
Furthermore, it remains unclear whether newcomer Bruno Fernando will be able to join team practices and become available for game action this week.
“When he starts working with the team, then we will talk about him,” noted Obradovic.
A few hours following the latest team outing, the 27-year-old Angolan center landed in Serbian capital.
Also, on Monday, good news emerged for Partizan fans. According to “Sport Klub”, Jabari Parker and Aleksej Pokusevski will be available to Obradovic for the match against Hapoel.
The finger is bandaged and there were no issues, so it is expected that the former Barcelona player will be at coach Obradovic’s disposal during the EuroLeague double week. Aleksej Pokusevski will also be in the team. He received a blow to the head in the match against Borac and did not play much of the second half, but he is fine as well.
In a complicated stretch, Partizan hopes to improve on a 3-3 start in Europe’s premier club continental competition, after jumping to 4-0 in the regional league.