Former Monaco player Georgios Papagiannis suffers serious knee injury

The Anadolu Efes is going through a difficult period after losing two key players during their EuroLeague match against Panathinaikos on the fifth day of competition. Georgios Papagiannis and Ercan Osmani were both forced to leave the court in the first half without being able to return to the game.

Panathinaikos Aktor’u ağırladığımız karşılaşmada sol omzunda zedelenme meydana gelen Ercan Osmani’nin tedavisine başlanırken, oyuncumuzun yaklaşık 3 hafta sahalardan uzak kalması beklenmekte.

Kısa süre içerisinde sol dizindeki ön çapraz bağ yaralanması için ameliyatı… pic.twitter.com/FW6SOCKSkq

— Anadolu Efes SK (@AnadoluEfesSK) October 18, 2025

A catastrophic injury for Papagiannis

The day after the match, Anadolu Efes officially announced the diagnoses, confirming a long-term absence for the Greek center. Papagiannis suffered a left knee anterior cruciate ligament tear and will require surgery. The former AS Monaco player will miss at least eight months of competition, effectively ending his season. This is a major blow for the Istanbul club, which is still without its other center, Vincent Poirier (2.13 m, 32 years), for several weeks. The French international was injured during EuroBasket preparation.

Papagiannis’ injury occurred while trying to catch an alley-oop pass. He fell to the ground, received medical attention, and left the court on a stretcher, visibly in tears.

Anadolu Efes’in Yunan pivotu Georgios Papagiannis, Panathinaikos maçının ikinci çeyreğinde sol dizinden sakatlık yaşayarak soyunma odasına götürüldü. Epey can sıkıcı bir görüntü. Çok geçmiş olsun Big Papa 🙏 pic.twitter.com/hfN07EG8Za

— Ferhat Yeşiltaş (@NeoRock06) October 17, 2025

Osmani also injured

Ercan Osmani wasn’t spared in this unfortunate match. The forward suffered a left shoulder injury following a collision with his compatriot Cedi Osman. Fortunately, his case is less concerning as he should miss approximately three weeks of action during his treatment.

Our thoughts are with our former player Georgios Papagiannis who went off the court with an apparent knee injury tonight.

Praying for your fast recovery, Papa ❤️ pic.twitter.com/yz1oTlmeY8

— AS Monaco Basket EN (@asmonaco_en) October 17, 2025

These two simultaneous absences represent a considerable challenge for Anadolu Efes in their ongoing EuroLeague campaign. The Istanbul team will need to quickly adapt and reorganize their rotation to compensate for these significant losses, particularly that of Papagiannis, whose extended absence disrupts coach Igor Kokoskov’s tactical plans for the rest of the season. With 33 regular season games remaining, the 2021 and 2022 European champion has already recorded 3 losses in the first 5 games.