Earlier this week, it was reported that new Boston Celtics forward Danillo Gallinari tore his left meniscus while playing for Italy in a FIBA World Cup Qualifying game. He was originally reported to have a timetable to be back playing on the parquet floor by mid-November.
On Friday, the Boston Celtics announced that Gallo’s injury was much worse. Further evaluations showed that the Italian sharpshooter had actually torn his ACL. The Athletic’s Shams Charania added that the typical return timetable for an ACL tear is 6-12 months. Gallinari tore the same ACL back in 2013.
Boston signed Gallinari to a two-year contract worth just over $13 million earlier this summer.
He was primed to come off the Celtics bench and give the team a nice scoring boost. Last season he averaged just under 12 points per game while playing for the Atlanta Hawks. Gallinari knocked down 43% of his shots and 38% of his 3-pointers in the process.
When introduced by the team earlier this summer, the 34-year-old expressed excitement about playing in Boston. He said that he grew up a Celtics fan and that it was a no brainer for him to join the push for Banner 18.
Gallo said that Boston was the place he always dreamed of playing. After his introductory press conference he described the day as a special one for him and big point in his career. He also tweeted a photo of himself holding up his No. 8 jersey at the Auerbach Center in front of the championship banners.
Breathing the history of basketball 🏀
— DANILO GALLINARI (@gallinari8888) July 13, 2022
I'll do my best to write my name on it!#Celtics #Boston #NBA pic.twitter.com/yO2HGBrM89
With disappointment swirling, the attention now turns to how the green can fill the void left by his absence.