Italy’s Danilo Gallinari will miss Eurobasket this summer after an act that led to the NBA star fracturing his hand.
During a friendly game against the Netherlands, Gallinari was rather aggressively pushed away by Jiko Kok on a boxout, which prompted the new Los Angeles Clippers signing to react and in the heat of the moment, swung his fist.
A right swing connected on Kok’s jaw but the connection was so fierce, Gallinari left the game and needed to be taken to hospital where scans revealed a fracture on his hand.
It was a mindless act by Gallinari, who was looking to impress his new employers, having signed for the Clippers in the off-season.
The injury will hit Italy hard as they compete in a challenging Eurobasket group, as they are housed in Tel Aviv, Israel where they will play the hosts, Germany, Lithuania, Ukraine and Georgia in Group B.
Despite the incident, the Italians defeated the Dutch 66-57.