AJ Edu suffers ACL, MCL tear in FIBA U19 match vs Greece

AJ Edu will most likely be out for the rest of the FIBA Under-19 Basketball World Cup after suffering an ACL and MCL tear in his right knee.

The sad news was reported by Gilas Pilipinas Youth Physical Therapist George Yorobe, who was one of the persons on the scene when Edu suffered the injury in the first quarter of the game against Greece where he only played for two minutes.

Yorobe said: “During the 1st Quarter of the game against Greece, AJ got hit by his defender while he was going baseline to the basket and was unable to go back in the game. We rushed AJ to the nearest diagnostics hospital here in Heraklion, Greece after the game to have an MRI on his Right knee.

After the MRI was done, we requested an initial reading from the radiologist on duty.”

Hospital findings were not promising, said Yorobe.

“AJ Edu suffered an Anterior Cruciate Ligament and Meniscal Tear on his right knee with hairline fracture on his right femur bone based on the MRI images read by the radiologist.

The official results will be released on Monday once the hospital's orthopedic doctor read and reviewed the MRI Images of AJ Edu's Knee. We also requested the orthopedic doctor here at Fiba to check on AJ tomorrow.”

Edu’s absence is huge for the Gilas Pilipinas Youth, which will next battle Argentina in the competition. The 6-foot-10 Edu formed a twin tower with 7-foot-1 Kai Sotto for the competition, building one of the tallest line-ups in the history of the youth program.

PHOTO: SBP