ISTANBUL — Anadolu Efes star guard Mike James faces further medical testing after being forced to leave the court with an injury that head coach Pablo Laso admitted "doesn't look good," with early indications pointing to a torn Achilles.
"It doesn't look good. But for sure we trust our medical stuff, we will make more tests tomorrow when we come back to Istanbul," Laso said after the game. The coach stressed the club will wait for examinations in Istanbul before drawing final conclusions on the severity.
Laso acknowledged the blow of losing James mid-game, a key contributor for Efes, but credited his squad's response. "For sure it was a bad moment for the team when you see a player leaving the court in the way he did," Laso said. "But, I think we showed the character to stay in the game after injury."
James addressed the setback himself on social media shortly after, writing, "Well it sucks….. Fucking awful. Thank you for everybody who reached out." Anadolu Efes will now await results from the additional tests to determine the full extent of the injury, which unfortunately appears to be a torn Achilles.