Currently injured in his left calf, Victor Wembanyama will be absent for several weeks. On his return, the Frenchman could sometimes be spared as explained by his coach Mitch Johnson.
How many matches will Victor Wembanyama play this season? If it is obvious too early to say it, there is no doubt that the Frenchman would like to play at least as many as during his rookie season (71), he who was forced to call it quits in February last season after playing 46 games. Unfortunately for him, an injury to his left calf will now cause him to miss a few weeks of competition (a priori between two and three).
“We are not going to take the slightest risk with that,” admitted Mitch Johnson on this subject, after the victory against the Sacramento Kings. On Tuesday, the Spurs coach once again mentioned the Frenchman’s state of health which could be spared in the future. “It’s at the heart of the discussions we’ve had since the moment we drafted him,” the latter initially explained.
Johnson: “We want to place him in the best conditions”
“What’s difficult is that, very often, when we look at sports science data, we use past information to make predictions about the future. There aren’t many examples or points of comparison similar to Victor. So it’s sort of a continuous, live discussion,” Gregg Popovich’s successor subsequently declared, in comments collected by L’Équipe’s special correspondent in San Antonio.
“We all saw that he came back in the best shape of his life. He is stronger, and his physical condition is the best it has ever been. But it’s obviously something that we will remain attentive to because, yes, we want to place it in the best conditions, not only in terms of basketball and health, but also in terms of availability and durability,” Johnson later added. So, in the future, Wembanyama could sometimes be spared so that it can last longer. So to be continued.
