Kristaps Porzingis, the newly-acquired Boston Celtics big man, is officially missing the FIBA World Cup. He announced this afternoon on Twitter that he’s been dealing with plantar fasciitis, and that after consultation with both the Latvian team doctors and the Celtics medical staff, he won’t be lacing up for the national team.
Ir grūti, es jūtos ļoti atbildīgs savu un Latvijas valstsvienības atbalstītāju priekšā, taču ir pieņemts lēmums, ka es nespēlēšu Pasaules kausā.
— Kristaps Porzingis (@kporzee) August 15, 2023
Pēc vairāku nedēļu atlabšanas procesa un atkārtota MRI izmeklējuma, vēl joprojām pēdas plantārais fascīts man neļauj atrasties uz… pic.twitter.com/mvyk4Dj8lU
“After several weeks of recovery and a repeat MRI examination, the plantar fasciitis of my foot still prevents me from being on the field in full readiness,” Porzingis wrote. “This joint decision has been made by both the medical staff and coaching staff of the national team, as well as the Celtics team – with the advice and opinion that it is now necessary to continue the recovery process.”
Plantar fasciitis is one of the most common causes of heel pain and involves “inflammation of a thick band of tissue that runs across the bottom of each foot and connects the heel bone to the toes (plantar fascia)”, according to the Mayo Clinic.
Several days ago, a report came out from journalist Rupert Fabig that shed doubt for the first time about Porzingis’ World Cup availability, but the Latvian Association strongly denied its claims. Now, it appears Porzingis has been dealing with a foot injury all along.
Exclusive: According to my information there are growing concerns that Latvia star Kristaps #Porzingis might miss the #FIBAWC due to injury. Understood it is something with his foot. Staff, himself and Boston #Celtics will wait until the last moment to make a decision. pic.twitter.com/YIkIz6coTo
— Rupert Fabig (@rupertfabig) August 9, 2023
Kristaps Porzingis’s injury could be a blessing for the Boston Celtics
On the bright side for Boston Celtics fans, this development means that Porzingis will focus on recovering this summer, and won’t be at risk of getting more seriously injured in the World Cup games. Fans will remember that Danilo Galinari, a significant offseason acquisition last summer, tore his ACL playing in a World Cup qualifier game for the Italian team, and subsequently missed the entirety of the 2022-23 season.
However, given that the team had to trade away its most veteran player Marcus Smart in order to acquire Porzingis, this development is undoubtedly concerning. Porzingis has long been an injury-prone player; he missed the entire 2018-19 season with a torn ACL and tore his meniscus in 2020 playing for the Dallas Mavericks. Standing at seven-foot-three, he’s one of the tallest active players in the league, and though he enjoyed a relatively healthy campaign for the Wizards last year, his ability to stay on the court remains a question. In fact, Porzingis hasn’t played more than 66 games in a season since his rookie campaign.
We’ll likely know more about the status of Porzingis’s foot in the coming weeks, but since plantar fasciitis can linger, fans will probably hold their breath for more information. Hopefully, this is more of a precautionary move, and the Latvian big man will be available and fully recovered by the start of the NBA season.