Danilo Gallinari, still out of action due to the left knee injury he sustained in the national team’s game against Georgia last Aug. 27, gave an interview to The Sports Gazette. Only a few days before his injury, precisely on July 12, the 1988-class Lodi native had signed a two-year contract with the Boston Celtics, who stopped short of a ring last year. Recently, the Rooster returned to practice with the ball and said he was hopeful he could return ahead of the playoffs, at which the Celtics will most likely appear as one of the favorites for the final victory (currently the Green are the best team in the league with 33 wins out of 45 games played). The following is what Gallinari stated:
“It is definitely a difficult moment, but it is something that is part of the sport and a player’s career. It had happened to me before to have a bad stop, and unfortunately it had to happen to me again. The good part is that the recovery work for some time now has started to be more fun: I have started running and doing some exercises on the parquet. I am happy because together with the Celtics staff we are working day by day, and everything seems to be going well. I see the light at the end of the tunnel, but I’ve always seen it. Of course, there was a bump in the road, but I will be back on the field without any doubt, and I hope to be able to do it as early as the playoffs, because this group works very well and this year seems to be special. And to be able to be part of it on the field with my contribution would be a special experience for me. I think we are a solid, well-rounded team. It is clear that the season is still long but we have started well, which for this team, which last year suffered some difficulties at the beginning of the regular season, means a great confidence boost. You can see that the guys know each other and want to win at all costs. And then there is Tatum, who deserves the MVP award for the way he is playing and how he is carrying the rest of the team on his shoulders. I’m sure Jayson, who has already shown so much throughout his career, will continue to push relentlessly to go all the way, as will everyone else. And by then I hope to be there and to play my part.”
A young man born in 2000 with a great love for basketball (a sport he played for 13 years) and a great interest in the world of journalism. Graduated in 2021 in “Humanities for Communication” from Statale University in Milan, he is attending the second year of the Master’s Degree in “Information and Journalism” at the University of Bergamo. He has been collaborating with BasketUniverso since February 2019.
