He is the latest Efes player that will miss an extended period of time.
Erkan Yilmaz out for three months following collarbone surgery
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The injury crisis at Anadolu Efes Istanbul continues to get worse and worse, with the club confirming on Wednesday that forward Erkan Yilmaz will be out for approximately three months after undergoing collarbone surgery. Yilmaz sustained the injury during Tuesday night's 71-68 win against Panathinaikos AKTOR Athens in Round 12 of the 2023-24 Turkish Airlines EuroLeague Regular Season.
The 26-year-old Yilmaz has largely had to make do with a backup role at Efes this season, averaging just 1.5 points, 2.0 rebounds and 1.2 assists in 10:25 minutes across 11 appearances, but he is a valuable member of the squad for head coach Erdem Can. After all, it was Coach Can who decided to bring Yilmaz with him from Turk Telekom Ankara to Efes.
"Following the injury suffered by our talented player Erkan Yılmaz in yesterday's game, tests revealed a fracture in his right collarbone and he was operated on by Prof. Dr. Baris Kocaoglu today," read a statement by Efes.
"Our team doctor Ugur Dilicik stated that our player will be away from the court for about three months after the successful surgery."
Injury woes for Efes
Yilmaz joins a long list of injured players for Efes. Just earlier this week, the club announced that Will Clyburn will be out until at least mid-January and that Rodrigue Beaubois would be sidelined for three weeks. In addition, Elijah Bryant has been out since Round 6, Tibor Pleiss hasn't played since Round 8, Ante Zizic is unavailable until mid-December and Derek Willis is out until mid-January.
All in all, that means Coach Can is currently without seven first-team players, which has resulted in Efes having to dip into the market to make up the numbers. Forward Mike Daum arrived from Derthona Basket and has already played two games for the club, while center Dan Oturu signed just a few days ago and made his Efes debut in Round 12.