http://lakersblog.latimes.com/lakersblog/2009/08/pau.html It sounds worse than it is. Reports out of Spain, where Pau Gasol is playing with the Spanish national Pau Gasol Injures Finger team, indicate that LA's very tall, very talented, very important F/C jammed his left index finger in practice and was taken to the hospital where surgery was performed. He's expected to miss about three weeks of action, putting his participation in the European Championships (EuroBasket) in question. The Lakers know of the injury but don't have much information beyond the basics above. The news, while obviously not good, isn't necessarily calamitous, either. While Gasol is obviously a guy who utilizes both hands effectively, assuming the damage is limited and heals between now and, say... early October, it won't have an impact on anything the Lakers do going forward. Meanwhile, while national team play is incredibly important to him, on this side of the pond many fans would just as soon see Gasol get some well earned rest. My Spanish isn't great- I'm sticking to the nuts and bolts here- so if there's information in the Marca post linked above that ought be translated, feel free to do so below!
Agreed however finger injuries can linger on, ala Kobe. The thing with finger injuries in basketball is that that can re-occur real easy. Doesnt take much to jar a finger in a game of basketball and if it's already hurt, the injury can stay around for a while.
How is this interesting and what is the relevance to this forum? It seems like there is almost no chance it has any impact on his NBA season. If anything, he'll be more rested. In other news, Andrew Bynum got a paper cut opening his mail. I'll start a thread.
He had 1 fractured and 1 dislocated... I'm not sure if he has gotten treatment on either fingers yet.
