By Johnny Askounis/ info@eurohoops.net
A crowded injury list for Anadolu Efes welcomed Burak Can Yildizli.
The Turkish power forward is set to be sidelined for four to six weeks due to a fracture in his right wrist.
Reporting wrist pain, Yildizli was previously ruled out for Round 10 of the 2025-26 Turkiye Sigorta Basketbol Super Ligi and a meeting with Aliaga Petkimspor in Turkcell Basketball Development Center on Sunday. Following medical tests revealed the severity of the setback, leading to the projection of the recovery timeline.
The Istanbul outfit updated the injury status of the Tokat native on Thursday.
Shane Larkin (left groin surgery), P.J. Dozier Jr. (right thigh), and Giorgios Papagiannis (left knee surgery) remain out for the team coached by interim play-caller Rado Trifunovic. However, Vincent Poirier has been listed as questionable for Round 15 of the EuroLeague Regular Season, and a clash versus Valencia in Roig Arena on Thursday evening.
Poirier, 32, underwent knee surgery during the offseason. Due to the injury, he was removed from the senior national team of France during training camp en route to EuroBasket 2025, and has been sidelined from the top of the winter club schedule. The experienced center, a former NBA player with the Boston Celtics and Philadelphia 76ers, signed a three-year contract to join Efes before the 2024-25 season.
Yildizli, 31, is a youth product of Efes, but he played for several other Turkish teams before reuniting with his parent club in 2023. Limited to one brief EuroLeague showing over the last three years, he has recorded more playing time at the domestic level. In the 2025-26 edition of BSL, he has tallied 1.0 points, 1.0 rebounds, and 0.5 assists per contest over two appearances.
With a search for a new head coach underway, the Turkish club sits 5-9 in the EuroLeague, with the distance from the Play-in Showdown zone being three games, one game closer than the lowest seed leading directly to the Playoffs 2026.
After four straight losses, the domestic record was reduced to 6-4. The next BSL fixture is on Sunday, opposite Fenerbahce Beko in Ulker Sports Arena.