Celtics survive major FIBA injury scare with rising frontcourt star

Things have been going well for the Celtics players at the FIBA World Cup qualifiers, especially Neemias Queta, who has been dominating for Team Portugal. He has had a few big games and is clearly one of the leaders of the team, including a monstrous 20-point, 11-rebound, 4-block game in a tough loss against Georgia on Monday.

And while the loss is tough news for Neemy and Portugal, it’s great to see that he was out there and continuing his domination after a serious injury scare days earlier. After helping the Portuguese pull out a massive win over Spain on Friday, Queta was held out of the final minutes of the game due to concern over an ankle injury.

After the game, via translation, the head coach of Portugal, Mário Gomes, explained, “The physiotherapist and the doctor told me there was a real risk, so we decided not to use him anymore. We also have people here from the Boston Celtics’ staff, who I believe are helping our medical team figure out what’s going on.”

Neemias Queta avoids major setback after Portugal scare

Needless to say, this is just about the last thing you want to hear. Neemy had a breakout season last year, just got a big, well-deserved contract extension, has been having a great offseason, and is expected to be a huge part of the Celtics’ frontcourt this season and beyond.

Obviously, it’s great to see him representing his country and blossoming in international play as he gets ready for the coming NBA season, but the one thing that can ruin it all is an injury, and from the sound of it, there was at least a very real scare.

So the fact that Queta was back in the lineup, looking like his usual self, just a few days later is a great sign that the Boston big man dodged a bullet. It’s safe to say the team’s medical staff wouldn’t have let him play if there was any kind of serious injury or if Neemy was at risk of any long-term health issues.

Celtics lost Gallinari to torn ACL at FIBA qualifiers in 2022

While this was quite the scare, it appears that Neemy and the Celtics are out of the woods on this one for now, and fans can go back to enjoying how well Queta is playing in these qualifiers and getting excited about another potential leap this season in Boston.

Unfortunately, this wouldn’t have been the first time that the Celtics have suffered a brutal injury loss during World Cup qualifiers. Just a few years ago, in 2022, Danilo Gallinari was a prized offseason signing and was poised to make a big impact in Boston before tearing his ACL while playing for Team Italy, causing him to miss the entire NBA season and completely derailing his Celtics career.

Thankfully, history doesn’t seem to be repeating itself as Queta looked no worse for the wear on Monday.

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