Minnesota Timberwolves point guard Ricky Rubio has revealed that he may not feature in the Euro Basket 2015 as he could spend the summer getting healthy.
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Rubio will not feature again this NBA season after playing in just 22 games for the Timberwolves due to injuries to his left ankle.
The talented point guard has insisted that getting healthy will be his priority this summer, as ultimately he admits that he owes the franchise a lot given that he has only played one full season in his NBA career.
The European Championships get underway in September, but it remains to be seen whether or not the Spanish national team have one of their star guards on the roster.
“I haven’t been healthy, and I owe this team a lot,” Rubio said, ESPN reports.
“In four years, I have one good season, an 82-game season. I owe this team a lot.”
Rubio signed a four-year extension worth $55m recently, and looked like he was ready to lead the team following the departure of Kevin Love as he started the season strong.
However, injury struck on November 7 and he missed the next two and a half months and played through soreness for a while as he continued to struggle.
With the season falling apart, the Timberwolves opted to shut him down for the year and allow him time to heal as surgery was not required.
However, coach Flip Saunders has insisted that the decision on whether or not to play in the European tournament will ultimately be down to Rubio and the franchise will not pressure him into anything, according to ESPN.
Rubio averaged 10.3 points, 8.8 assists and 1.7 steals per game this season and worked hard to improve certain aspects of his game. However, he will face a tough decision later this summer as the opposing argument could be that Euro Basket 2015 could give him the platform needed to regain his fitness and confidence ahead of the new NBA season.
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