Omri Casspi, the Cavaliers recently acquired small forward, slipped and injured his knee on Wednesday during an Israeli national team practice.
Despite multiple reports that have varied in terms of severity, Casspi has recently tweeted that MRI results have come back fine. The player is expected to take two-to-four weeks of time to recover, potentially missing European Championship.
In a world where the NBA lockout has forced team sources to be mum, basketball news has primarily come in the form of stars looking at overseas opportunities and Rucker Park sideshows. Thankfully, in an age where Twitter bridges the cap between players and fans (sometimes to a fault), Cavalier fans have the ability to stay in touch with one of their newest arrivals in the 6-foot-9-inch deep threat.
Casspi included a “Go Cavs” hashtag in his last knee-related tweet, and reassured fans that he would not take part in full-on basketball activities – at least two weeks – until his knee was 100 percent. The player expects six weeks for a full-on recovery and contends that he is still in considerable pain.
“I wont risk anything before I’ll be 100% to go out there and play,” said Casspi. “I’m getting treatments everyday. 2-4 weeks recovery time. But again, nothing is torn and I’m just fine.”
As reported, the Israeli national team is trying to finish among the top six in the EuroBasket tournament, which would help them qualify for next summer’s last-chance Olympic qualifying tournament. It is at the subsequent tournament where the three teams will win bids to the London 2012 Olympic games. Casspi, the first Israeli-born NBA player, factored to be an integral part of this journey. When acquired by the Cavaliers in the 11th hour deal for JJ Hickson, Casspi told Cleveland media that the next several months would be a “very important summer.”
