FRA – Noah injury a big blow for Collet

CHICAGO (2010 FIBA World Championship) – France coach Vincent Collet has new cause for concern about the availability of Joakim Noah after the Chicago Bulls shut down their big man indefinitely because of plantar fasciitis.

The 6ft 11in centre was sent back to Chicago from his team’s current road trip in order to receive treatment on his left foot and no precise date has been for his return.

“We’re shutting him down. It’s the best course of action right now,” said Bulls general manager Gar Forman. “We’ll re-evaluate it after the All-Star Break.”

Noah joined the French national side coached by Collet last summer for their preparation games ahead of the Additional Qualifying Round (AQR) for EuroBasket 2009 and averaged 13 points and 7.5 rebounds in two games played in Strasbourg.

France tried to keep the 24-year-old on the squad for the AQR games against Italy and Finland, but the Bulls made it quite clear he was not to play past the preparation round. Noah obliged, heading back stateside promptly.

This will be a particularly big blow for France as Noah has made great strides in his third NBA season. Through 46 games, he was averaging a double-double of 11.2 points and 12.0 rebounds, the latter ranking him third best in the league.

He had a breakthrough performance in last year’s memorable Eastern Conference first round playoff series against the Boston Celtics and so far this season had looked to have picked up where he left off.

FIBA