SRB - Nedovic escapes serious injury

BELGRADE (EuroBasket/FIBA Basketball World Cup) - Serbia are missing several key players from years gone by for this summer's EuroBasket, yet no one is panicking.

The Blues remain one of the teams that many expect to do well and qualify for next year's FIBA Basketball World Cup in Spain.

The reason is the deep pool of talent that exists in the country.

Serbia has youngsters that are champing at the bit to play in international competition, like rising star Nemanja Nedovic.

He featured for the national team in the Qualification Round for EuroBasket 2013 and the the Phoenix Suns selected him with the last pick of the first round in this summer's NBA Draft.

Nedovic hurt his left foot in Serbia's recent friendly game against Russia and there were fears he could face a lengthy spell on the sidelines.

But the country's basketball federation has announced that that the 22-year-old Belgrade native was not seriously injured.

As a precaution, Serbia will keep Nedovic in Belgrade to work out with the conditioning coach instead of allowing him to travel to Antibes for Serbia's friendlies against France on Thursday and Georgia on Friday.

"Today (Tuesday) Nedovic begins with therapy and will work individually with a fitness trainer to fully recover so he can return to full training," said Dragan Radovanovic, the president of the medical committee of the Serbian Basketball Federation.

Serbia's starting point guard, Milos Teodosic, is still doing individual training in the hope that he can recover from a left calf injury that cut short his season with CSKA Moscow.

Teodosic was a member of the all-tournament teams at EuroBasket 2009 and the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

Vladmir Lucic was an injury doubt but has been passed fit to play in Antibes.

Serbia will play at the EuroBasket in Group B against Montenegro, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Latvia, Lithuania and the Former Yugoslav Republic of Macedonia.

A top six finish in Slovenia next month would qualify the team for the World Cup.

If Spain are in the first six, then a top seven spot will be good enough for the Blues to progress to next year's event.

FIBA