Celtics Suffer Major Setback After Italian Recruit Sustains Knee Injury

When the Boston Celtics signed Danilo Gallinari to a two-year deal, the Italian was supposed to provide the franchise with added firepower.

However, this can only happen if the 34-year-old can keep himself healthy, especially for the coming NBA season.

Gallinari is no stranger to injuries, one of the reasons seen as to why his relevance to any NBA team has not been seen yet.

Now, the 6th overall pick of the 2008 NBA Draft is once again injured and there is no telling when Gallinari can return to active basketball duty.

The 6-foot-10 forward suffered an injury in Italy's FIBA World Cup qualifying game against Georgia on Saturday, August 27.

It was announced that Gallinari sustained a torn meniscus.

No recovery timeline was given. However, Gallinari himself confirmed that he will miss next month's Eurobasket tournament set to happen in his home country.

The injury occurred after the Italian received a bounce pass during Saturday's game. Gallinari ended up limping towards the sideline and received assistance on his way back to the locker room.

Tied to this, it will be interesting how his pact with the Celtics will be affected.

Gallinari signed a two-year deal via the midlevel exception in free agency this July.

He spent the last two seasons with the Atlanta Hawks, averaging 12.4 points, 4.4 rebounds, and 1.5 assists in 117 combined games.

Gallinari was likely added to add more shooting options for head coach Ime Udoka as the team tries to attempt a return trip to the NBA Finals.

He owns career averages of shooting 47.6% from the field and 38.2% from beyond the arc.

The injury that Gallinari sustained is somewhat similar to what Robert Williams incurred during the 2021-22 season.

After tearing his meniscus late that season, Williams opted to undergo a surgical trim and was able to return to action less than a month later.

For his part, if the 34-year-old cager opts to nurse his meniscus, this could see him miss games for a longer period.

With the return to action of Gallinari up in the air, Udoka may have to make some adjustments.

This includes possibly leaning on a smaller lineup using Grant Williams or Jayson Tatum.

Sam Hauser could also be another option, someone who can offer added perimeter shooting.

Hence, any adjustments needed by the Celtics may hinge on how long Gallinari will be sidelined due to his injury.