GRE – Injuries mount for new coach Zouros

ATHENS (EuroBasket 2011) - Vassilis Spanoulis has played for Greece at the last two Olympics and desperately wants to compete in a third when the Summer Games are staged next year in London.

For the Greeks to make it, it stands to reason that Spanoulis will have to put forth one of his best efforts in a national team jersey at the EuroBasket in Lithuania since veterans Dimitris Diamantidis and Theo Papaloukas are no longer in the squad.

Also worrying for new coach Elias Zouros is an ankle injury that could prevent Panathinaikos playmaker Nick Calathes from travelling to Lithuania.

Spanoulis himself isn’t a cast-iron certainty ahead of the EuroBasket because of an abdominal injury.

"The preparations are not beginning with the best possible way, because there are problems," Spanoulis admitted.

A leg problem is also preventing Stratos Perperoglou from travelling on Wednesday to the mountain resort of Karpenissi for the beginning of the national team preparations.

Spanoulis continued: "There were absences, and now including Nick and Stratos ...

"Personally I feel better.

"Since March, I had difficulty with the most serious injury in my career, but that's the situation. There are problems.

"But I wanted to play in the national team.

"I'm better after receiving more treatment.

"What I want is what we all want and that's the best for another year.

"The European Championship is very important because it gives us the ticket to the Olympics, which is a fantastic experience.

"We will work hard for this because nothing not comes easy."

National team doctor Nikos Koukoulas says this is a challenging summer for Greece.

He said: "Unfortunately this year, we have some minor problems at the start, as you know ..."

"Stratos Perperoglou has a problem with his leg and needs to stay in Athens for treatment.

"We will reassess the situation (in 10 days) and see if he'll be able to integrate with the rest of the team.

"There is no need to go into specific details. He has a small problem but the bottom line is that we will do workouts and he will not come with us.

As for Calathes, Koukoulas said: "He had an injury two weeks ago in America which turned out to be a fractured ankle.

"He's already had two weeks of recuperation under the instructions received by a colleague in the U.S.

"Under this program, he needs another two weeks of recuperation ...”

FIBA