Danilo Gallinari Diagnosed With Meniscus Tear

The knee injury that Danilo Gallinari suffered Saturday is less serious than originally feared, tweets Shams Charania of The Athletic. The Celtics forward tore his left meniscus during a World Cup Qualifier, the Italian National Team announced.

No timetable has been set for his recovery, but Gallinari will definitely miss the upcoming EuroBasket tournament, the Italian team added. NBA training camps open in about four weeks.

Gallinari confirmed the diagnosis on social media (Twitter link) and offered a message to Italian fans (translated by EuroHoops).

“It hurts like hell,” he wrote. “Not so much the knee that it gave up in yesterday’s game that we won again thanks to our character. That will take some time – fortunately less than expected – to get back to normal. It damn hurts to give up this national team dream. We wanted to treat ourselves to magical nights. In my own house. In our house.”

According to an ESPN report, Gallinari limped off the court in the fourth quarter of Saturday’s game against Georgia. Trainers examined the knee on the sidelines, and he was helped to the locker room by a teammate and a staff member. There were immediate concerns that he had suffered ligament damage, including a possible torn ACL, but the Italian team doctor examined him after the game and said the ligament is OK.

“It’s tough to talk about basketball after what we saw happen to Danilo,” Italy captain Luigi Datome said. “We wish him, of course, the best.”

The 34-year-old Gallinari was an important offseason addition for Boston after reaching the NBA Finals last season. He was sent from the Hawks to the Spurs in late June as part of the Dejounte Murray trade and signed with the Celtics for the midlevel exception after reaching a buyout agreement with San Antonio.

The recovery timeline for a torn meniscus can vary significantly depending on how significant the tear is and how the injury is treated. We’ll have to wait for further updates on Gallinari to get a sense of whether his recovery process will take weeks or months.

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