Germany loses Voigtmann for EuroBasket, Latvia decimated by injuries

EuroBasket - Injuries are piling up at EuroBasket 2025. Germany must do without Johannes Voigtmann for the rest of the tournament, while Latvia already has four injured players despite being virtually assured of qualifying for the round of 16.

By@Sylvain Sultat

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Germany loses Voigtmann for EuroBasket, Latvia decimated by injuries

Photo Credit : FIBA

EuroBasket 2025 is facing injuries at the start of the competition. Germany and Latvia are paying a heavy physical toll in this competition with particularly high levels of contact.

Germany without their Bayern Munich center

Shortly after Germany’s crushing victory against Great Britain (120-57), the German federation announced bad news. Johannes Voigtmann, the Bayern Munich center, will miss the rest of the tournament due to an injury requiring surgery.

« Johannes Voigtmann will no longer be available for the DBB team for the rest of the tournament. Further examinations revealed an injury to the Bayern Munich center that requires surgical treatment, » the German team announced.

The 2.11m player had only played two games against Montenegro and Lithuania, averaging 1.5 points, 3 rebounds and 2.5 assists in 16.4 minutes.

Latvia reduced to 9 available players

The situation is even more critical for Luca Banchi’s Latvia. Despite a reassuring victory against Portugal (78-62) that puts them in an excellent position to qualify for the round of 16, the Latvian team’s roster is melting like snow in the sun.

Arturs Zagars and Kristers Zoriks both left the game injured, adding to Andrejs Grazulis, who was already out for the rest of the competition due to a foot injury. The 25-year-old point guard Zagars, who was averaging 9.3 points and 5 assists, got injured after only 4 minutes and 28 seconds of play.

« When you select your 12 players, you select your 12 best players. Not necessarily the best in absolute terms, but those who work best together, » Luca Banchi lamented in the press conference. « Because you have to keep in mind that unexpected things can happen. And unfortunately for us, these unexpected things are happening. Even too often, and too frequently. »

The Italian coach advocates for expanding rosters: « Why not allow three additional players to participate in the Euro or World Cup? You can have three substitutes ready to step in case of injury. »

Fortunately for Latvia, Kristaps Porzingis remains in good shape. The Atlanta Hawks’ big man scored 21 points and grabbed 9 rebounds against Portugal, bringing his averages to 17.8 points and 6.5 rebounds per game. « We’re in 2025. Sometimes we play games on back-to-back days in this tournament, » Banchi concludes. « In this group, we have Porzingis, Queta, Sengun, Jokic… The level of contact is incredible. »

Sylvain Sultat

Sylvain Sultat suit la NBA au quotidien, entre performances individuelles, dynamiques collectives et grandes histoires de la ligue. Sur BeBasket, il décrypte l’actualité américaine avec passion et régularité, toujours à l’affût des tendances qui font bouger le monde du basket.