Back problem knocks Causeur out of France squad

PARIS (2016 FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournaments) - A back injury that has plagued Fabien Causeur late in the campaign has forced the Laboral Kutxa captain to withdraw from France's preliminary squad for the FIBA Olympic Qualifying Tournament (OQT) in Manila.

The 28-year-old shooting guard had played well in Spain's top flight and the Euroleague this season before hitting the sidelines with the injury following a game against Unicaja Malaga on 20 March.

Causeur returned for the Euroleague Final Four in Berlin on 13 May but only played a little more than three minutes before leaving the contest. He did not feature in the third-place game against Lokomotiv Kuban two days later and also missed the last couple of ACB regular season games.

Laboral Kutxa announced on Wednesday that Causeur would not play for the remainder of the season.

"My season is over," Causeur said in a tweet. "I tried everything in order to return but it wasn't to be...thanks to everyone for the support and I will come back stronger."

Causeur will be missed by France because when healthy, he is an explosive player on offense. In the Euroleague, he drilled 39.5 percent of his shots from the arc. The 1.93m Brest-born star was also effective putting on the ball on the floor and getting to the basket.

Monaco's Yakuba Ouatarra, meanwhile, will not be able to take advantage of his first call-up due to a calf injury he sustained in the French league playoffs.

The French Basketball Federation do not intend to name replacements for the two players in their 17-man preliminary squad.

France are to play in the OQT in Manila against the Philippines and New Zealand in Group B, while Canada, Senegal and Turkey will square off in Group A. Only the winner of the tournament will clinch a spot in the Rio de Janeiro Games.

FIBA