
Gabriel Pantel-Jouve
Panathinaikos Athens must deal without Cedi Osman for an indefinite period. The Turkish international from North Macedonia is suffering from an ankle injury that prevents him from participating in the seventh annual Pavlos Giannakopoulos tournament taking place in Australia.
Osman injured his ankle during the EuroBasket quarter-final match against Poland. Despite this injury, the former NBA player was able to return to play and was cleared to compete in the semi-final against Greece. In Sunday’s gold medal game against Germany, he even played all 40 minutes, contributing to Turkey’s silver medal.
Throughout the tournament in Riga, Osman posted solid statistics with an average of 16 points in nine games between the group phase and knockout stages. However, continuing to play through pain in recent days has developed into a bone contusion.
After medical evaluation by Panathinaikos staff, Osman will continue his treatment in Athens rather than traveling to Australia to face Partizan Belgrade and the Adelaide 36ers. This absence adds to those of T.J. Shorts II, Mathias Lessort and Marius Grigonis, who were already ruled out of the trip.
With limited time before the start of the 2025-2026 EuroLeague regular season, Osman’s participation in the first game remains uncertain. Panathinaikos is set to face Bayern Munich at the Telekom Center in Athens on September 30, and the Turkish forward’s presence is considered doubtful.
Having joined Panathinaikos before the 2024-2025 season after 495 NBA games with the Cleveland Cavaliers and San Antonio Spurs between 2017 and 2024, Osman had extended his contract until the end of the 2026-2027 season last April. This injury therefore represents a setback for the Greens in their European preparation.
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