Boston Celtics forward Danilo Gallinari recently played for his home country of Italy in the FIBA World Cup qualifier last weekend, where he suffered a scary looking injury to his left knee.
After the game it was revealed after an MRI that Gallinari had suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, which was a relief to many considering how severe the non-contact injury looked in real time.
Danilo Gallinari appears to suffer a non-contact knee injury on this play.
Prayers up for Gallo 🙏🏽 pic.twitter.com/DT5VRHoB2U
— ClutchPoints (@ClutchPoints) August 27, 2022
Unfortunately for Celtics fans, a second diagnosis has come in from Boston that reveals a far worse diagnosis for the 34-year-old forward.
NBA insider Shams Charania reported on Friday that Gallinari has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee, which is the second time that he has sustained this devastating injury in his career.
After receiving further evaluation, Boston’s Danilo Gallinari has been diagnosed with a torn ACL in his left knee, per sources. This is the same ACL that Gallinari tore in 2013.
— Shams Charania (@ShamsCharania) September 2, 2022
Galinari signed a two-year $13.3 million contract with the Celtics back in July to be a key part of the team’s bench rotation, so this is certainly a blow to the team’s chances of returning to the NBA Finals next season.
Many around the NBA world are extremely disappointed to hear this unfortunate diagnosis for Gallinari on Friday.
Oh, man… https://t.co/YK0gfMVOWO
— David Aldridge (@davidaldridgedc) September 2, 2022
Devastating news for Danilo, who was very excited about joining the Celtics' 2022-23 roster… https://t.co/5lAg2om1CC
— Josue Pavón (@Joe_Sway) September 2, 2022
Such a bummer.
He may have already been nearing the end, and this obviously doesn't help, but Gallinari has had an underrated career.
Top 80 all time in career offensive BPM. Only 5 players in NBA history match or exceed both his marks for 3P and FT per 75 possessions. https://t.co/opDENBzWED
— Andy Bailey (@AndrewDBailey) September 2, 2022
Oh man… that'll put him at 35 trying to come back after 2 torn ACLs. Just very unfortunate for Gallo. Forever our Denver rooster. Okay, we share custody with Milan. https://t.co/miU4tgbjw1
— Gordon Gross (@GMoneyNuggs) September 2, 2022
This hurts for Jayson Tatum and the Celtics. Gallinari was a great get. https://t.co/dNBEGG6g3Q
— Benjamin Hochman (@hochman) September 2, 2022
Gallinari has long been one of the most underrated scorers in the NBA over his career, averaging over 10 points per game in every season after his rookie year.
It is a huge setback in his career, and he will now need to attempt to return to the NBA after a second ACL tear at 35 years old, which will certainly be increasingly more difficult.
Boston will now need to find a solid replacement for him as they attempt to replicate the success that the organization had last season, which may be difficult to do.
