The Serbian Basketball Federation on Monday said that forward Borisa Simanic has lost one of his kidneys as the result of an injury sustained during a Basketball World Cup game against South Sudan.
Simanic has been operated on twice in Manila, the team said.
Additional complications presented themselves after the first surgery, requiring the second procedure on Sunday where the kidney was removed, team doctor Dragan Radovanovic said.
Photo: Reuters
Serbia yesterday beat Lithuania 87-67 in their quarter-final.
“It was really tough for us when we heard what happened,” Serbia forward Nikola Milutinov told reporters after the team practiced on Monday. “First, we didn’t believe it was such a bad thing. It’s really affected us. We’re really praying for him that he’s going to be good as soon as possible.”
Simanic was injured with just less than 2 minutes left in Serbia’s win over South Sudan on Wednesday last week. South Sudan’s Nuni Omot was trying to score under the basket, elbowing Simanic in that process. Simanic yelled in pain, then fell to his knees a few seconds later.
Omot said that he was not trying to cause an injury, and on Monday, Omot released a statement through the South Sudan Basketball Federation, which called the play “unintentional and unfortunate.”
“I am deeply saddened by the news of Simanic’s injuries,” Omot said in the statement. “As a sportsman, I firsthand understand the severity of his situation and I am deeply sorry that this happened. No player should have to go through that. I pray for Simanic’s recovery and speedy return to the court.”
Milutinov said the injury has shaken the Serbia team deeply.
“We didn’t sleep after that game. We were trying to find blood for him, because he was losing a lot of blood,” Milutinov said. “It was really a tough moment for everybody. I hope this will never happen to anybody in the world.”
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