The Efes center is expected to be unavailable for his team's next four games.
Ante Zizic out for three weeks with calf injury
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Anadolu Efes Istanbul has confirmed that Ante Zizic is expected to miss the next three weeks after suffering a muscle injury in his right calf. The 26-year-old center sustained the injury during his team's Round 10 clash against Partizan Mozzart Bet Belgrade in the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
"Ante Zizic, who suffered a muscle injury in the calf area of his right leg during the EuroLeague match against Partizan, has started his treatment and our club doctor, Ugur Dilicıkık, has stated that Zizic will be off the court for about three weeks," Efes confirmed in a statement.
So far this season, Zizic has averaged 8.2 points, 3.2 rebounds and an 11.4 PIR in all 10 of Efes's games, of which he has started seven. His standout performance to this point in the 2023-24 campaign came on the road at Virtus Segafredo Bologna in Round 6, albeit in a defeat, as he posted 15 points, 3 rebounds, 1 assist and finished with a PIR of 19.
The Croatian big man is currently playing in his fifth EuroLeague season, having made his competition debut in the 2016-17 campaign with Darussafaka Dogus Istanbul, where he averaged 9.0 points, 6.7 rebounds and a 13.2 PIR as the team reached the EuroLeague Playoffs. Following a stint in the NBA with the Cleveland Cavaliers, Zizic returned to the EuroLeague with Maccabi Playtika Tel Aviv and remained with the Israeli side between the 2020-21 and 2021-22 seasons, playing 65 times. He moved to Efes in the summer of 2022 and has since suited up 41 times for the Turkish club.
What games will Zizic miss?
Going by Efes’s statement, which states Zizic will be out for around three weeks, he is certain to miss the team’s games against Crvena Zvezda Meridianbet Belgrade (Round 11, 1 December), Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens (Round 12, 5 December) and ALBA Berlin (Round 13, Decembre 7), while he is expected to be unavailable for the Round 14 clash at home to Maccabi, his former team, on December 14.
Given that forward Derek Willis is also set to miss between six and eight weeks after undergoing finger surgery, the injury to Zizic is another blow for Efes head coach Erdem Can.