In a little more than a week, the Grizzlies will open training camp for the 2016-17 regular season with a big sigh of relief. Center Marc Gasol has been cleared to play after recovering from a broken right foot. The 7-footer suffered the injury in February and subsequently missed playing for his native Spain in the Rio Olympics. However, Gasol recently returned to Memphis for strength and conditioning. Gasol is also playing pickup games, according to sources with knowledge of his progress. The Griz took a cautious approach to Gasol’s rehabilitation and are upbeat about his return to form on the basketball court, according to the sources.
More on Marc Gasol Injury
In a little more than a week, the Grizzlies will open training camp for the 2016-17 regular season with a big sigh of relief. Center Marc Gasol has been cleared to play after recovering from a broken right foot.
The 7-footer suffered the injury in February and subsequently missed playing for his native Spain in the Rio Olympics. However, Gasol recently returned to Memphis for strength and conditioning. Gasol is also playing pickup games, according to sources with knowledge of his progress. The Griz took a cautious approach to Gasol's rehabilitation and are upbeat about his return to form on the basketball court, according to the sources. Gasol spent most of the offseason rehabbing in Spain with a regimen closely monitored by the Grizzlies. The entire Griz roster has worked out informally with Gasol since Labor Day.
In an interview with Spanish newspaper L'Esportiu, Grizzlies center Marc Gasol talked about his injury, the Team USA-Spain game and more. On his foot injury: "I'm really well and looking forward to starting (the season). I miss the competition, playing and enjoying basketball. All indications are that the foot is fine. I've practiced with the (Girona basketball club) juniors all I could, especially half-court sets."
Pau Gasol: ¡Cheer up @Marc Gasol! You will recover and back to speed soon! Stay strong! https://t.co/cdFl34ZQcF
The Spanish Basketball Federation officially confirmed that Marc Gasol will not be able to help the country’s national team in the Olympic Games. Despite lots of individual work by both the Memphis Grizzlies player and the national team’s medical staff, Gasol still needs more recovery time in order to fully rehabilitate from his right foot injury that has been plaguing him since February.
Spain's chances of upsetting Team USA at the forthcoming Olympics have taken an unmistakable hit with the news that All-Star big man Marc Gasol will be unable to play in the Summer Games in Rio. Sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Gasol, as feared, is not yet fully healed from the broken right foot that limited him to 52 games last season with the Memphis Grizzlies. Two Spanish outlets -- Libertad and ABC -- reported earlier Tuesday that Gasol, despite his inclusion on Spain's preliminary Olympic roster, will not be joining older brother Pau Gasol on the Spanish front line.
Spain's chances of upsetting Team USA at the forthcoming Olympics have taken an unmistakable hit with the news that All-Star big man Marc Gasol will be unable to play in the Summer Games in Rio. Sources confirmed to ESPN on Tuesday that Gasol, as feared, is not yet fully healed from the broken right foot that limited him to 52 games last season with the Memphis Grizzlies.
It seems that Spain will travel to Rio for the Olympic Games without center Marc Gasol. The Memphis Grizzlies star hasn’t managed to recover from the foot injury that has been plaguing him in recent months, according to Vicente Azpitarte, former media officer of the Spanish national team.
Vicente Azpitarte: Marc Gasol won't play the Olympic Games. He's tried but his foot needs more recovery time.
Peter Edmiston: Marc Gasol included in Spain's 20-man Rio roster, but still doesn't have medical clearance, so says @sergioscariolo marca.com/baloncesto/bas…
Marc Gasol on playing the Olympic Games: It's difficult, I'm not going to lie: very difficult. Training camp starts in less than a month and I still can't run.
Peter Edmiston: Marc Gasol said he hasn't yet discussed even trying to play in the Olympics, but that they would take a look at his ankle before deciding (and yeah, i don't know why he said ankle, but he very clearly said ankle).
“Marc is hoping to be there, but health comes first and the main thing is he recovers 100 percent,” Scariolo told the Spanish media yesterday. “When the time comes, he will tell us what’s his situation and his club’s opinion because with Marc there’s a lot of factors at play. I wish it was only up to him to make the decision.”
The Grizzlies are optimistic, and while I think they're talking themselves into the most favorable of the range of likely outcomes, there are reasons to expect Gasol can return to being at least a high-level starting center. It depends on his rehab and the whims of the basketball gods, which no one can predict. But I'd think at least somewhat diminished play and more careful usage should be expected.
Team sources I talked to explained that they're pretty optimistic about Gasol's recovery from this injury—that as long as he takes the rehab seriously and takes care of himself, it shouldn't have any impact on the length of his career. A Type II fracture without displacement is a much better diagnosis than a Type III fracture, for instance, which means the navicular bone breaks all the way through. These sorts of injuries have afflicted other players who didn't recover successfully from them, to be sure, but the Grizzlies are optimistic that the specifics of Marc's injury mean he has a much higher likelihood of recovery than others.
It's still a serious injury, and Gasol's recovery will have to be taken just as seriously to make sure it doesn't turn into some sort of inexorable slide into perpetual foot injuries. Clearly Gasol is out for the year, and my assumption would be that he isn't playing for Spain in this summer's Olympics, either, though that's still just an assumption on my part. It sounds like their goal for a return is training camp, but clearly that's not set in stone, and if he's not ready by then, it's in everyone's best interests to wait as long as it takes.
Brian Mahoney: Grizzlies make it official that Marc Gasol is out for the season after surgery on his broken right foot Saturday.
Kevin Lipe: Grizzlies announce Marc Gasol had successful surgery to “repair a non-displaced Type II fracture of the navicular bone in his right foot.”
Peter Edmiston: Marc Gasol's foot injury is indeed a non-displaced Type II fracture of the navicular bone. Surgery happened in Charlotte on Saturday.
Ronald Tillery: Mike Conley on Marc Gasol: "He's still distraught. It's going to take a while for him to get over this." Still no details of Gasol's rehab
Peter Edmiston: Chris Wallace on Marc Gasol: "We're still in a fact-finding mode on his injury. I don't want to go into any great particulars other than we're consulting with medical experts available to us, including our own, and coming up with the proper course of action."
Peter Edmiston: Wallace on Gasol: "I think long-term he'll be fine. Marc is a very dedicated, focused, & sophisticated patient for any doctor to rehab."
In the end, Gasol signed a five-year, $110 million contract extension in July. Memphis wanted to turn that tough Western Conference semifinals series loss to Golden State into a leap of something bigger, and better. And now, this: Gasol fractures his right foot. For now, Grizzlies officials stop short of completely ruling Gasol out for the season, but the possibility is admittedly bleak for a playoff push in April that’ll include him on the court. Doctors are evaluating the need for surgery, which would include the insertion of a pin that moves the rehabilitation and recovery process well into the summer.
Peter Edmiston: Spanish news agency EFE (via Madrid-based Marca) is reporting that it could be a 4-6 months absence for Marc Gasol: bit.ly/1Pm5mz3
KC Johnson: Pau on Marc Gasol: "He's not doing well."
The Memphis Grizzlies released today the following statement on behalf of Grizzlies General Manager Chris Wallace regarding Marc Gasol: “This morning at Campbell Clinic, Marc underwent a thorough evaluation by team physicians. During the course of this evaluation, a magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) revealed a fracture in his right foot. Marc is a cornerstone of our franchise, and we are focused on getting him healthy. Marc will be out indefinitely and a further update will be provided after the All-Star Break.”
Ronald Tillery: Griz center Marc Gasol has a broken right foot and will be out indefinitely, sources told The Commercial Appeal
Medical tests revealed a mid-foot fracture and the 7-footer could miss the remainder of this season. He has been ruled out indefinitely. It is unclear exactly when Gasol suffered the injury. Last Saturday, Gasol and Griz coach Dave Joerger acknowledged that Gasol was playing with an injury. Gasol started Monday night but departed late in the first quarter of the Grizzlies’ 112-106 overtime loss to the Portland Trail Blazers. Gasol was cleared to play and not at risk to further injure himself.
Ross Wooden: Marc Gasol (right mid-foot injury) will not return.
