Rubio’s injury

VALENCIA (Jeff Taylor's London Calling) - "All day waiting to know what @rickyrubio9 had and in the end, the worst news. The bitter side to sport but one must be strong."

Those were the words of a Victor Claver tweet on Saturday night concerning his good friend from Spain's national team, Ricky Rubio.

One of the best stories of this NBA season and one of the best things to ever happen to the Minnesota Timberwolves, Rubio's rookie campaign came to an end on Friday 9th March late in a game against the Los Angeles Lakers.

In a tight contest, the 21-year-old darted to the side of the court to help guard Kobe Bryant and after planting his left foot in a bid to slow the Los Angeles Lakers superstar, Bryant make contact with the Spaniard as he dribbled past him.

Rubio's left knee turned awkwardly and he struggled to get up.

He eventually did stand up, but wasn't able to continue playing and on Saturday, doctors announced the point guard had torn his ACL.

That meant Rubio would play no further part in the T-Wolves' season and he would almost certainly have no chance to play at the Olympics as he had done four years ago at the Beijing Games while just a precocious 17-year-old.

While news like this is normally devastating for the player, it seemed to hurt everyone else even more and that included Rubio's Olympic rivals, the United States.

One superstar after another went on Twitter to offer encouragement to Rubio.

Dwyane Wade, a two-time Olympian the USA's leading scorer in Beijing, expressed his sadness and paid tribute to Rubio.

D-Wade tweeted: "Ricky Rubio's injury isn't 1 that any basketball fan wanted 2 C. He's had an amazing rookie season & has brought life back 2 a franchise.

"Speedy recovery to one of the young great guards in our game."

Then there was LeBron James, Wade's Miami Heat teammate who also played against Rubio in Beijing and was among the first to start applauding the brilliance of Rubio's passing ability at the start of this NBA campaign.

"S/O to Ricky Rubio! Have a speedy and successful recovery," LeBron tweeted.

One USA Olympian after another went online to wish Rubio well.

There was Chris Paul, whom Rubio guarded in China, who tweeted: "Prayers out to @RickyRubio9 and hoping for a speedy recovery!"

And there was Kevin Durant, a near certainty to play for the Americans at the London Games after being named MVP of the 2010 FIBA World Championship.

He tweeted: "Praying that Ricky Rubio has a speedy recovery."

Pablo Laso, who like Rubio once played point guard for Spain and is now the coach of Real Madrid, was among many in the country to offer their support.

"Injuries are something that you aren't able to control when they come, but should make you stronger," Laso said.

Everyone wanted to see Rubio play for the rest of the season and lead Minnesota to one of the play-off berths in the Western Conference, and they also wanted to see Rubio run onto the court at the London Games.

This kid can play and he seems to always do so with unbridled joy, even last season when things weren't going well for him at Barcelona.

It's a nice thought to think that Rubio will make it back stronger, but the reality is that he is now, just as Spain's terrific women's player, Alba Torrens, facing tough days ahead.

Torrens also tore her ACL in a EuroLeague Women game this season while playing for Galatasaray.

There will be moments when Rubio will worry that he may re-injure the knee.

The one certainty is that everyone, from USA internationals to his own compatriots, are pulling for Rubio to make it back as quickly as he can.

And this already means a lot to Rubio.

His thoughts after reading all the support coming his way?

Jeff Taylor

FIBA

FIBA’s columnists write on a wide range of topics relating to basketball that are of interest to them. The opinions they express are their own and in no way reflect those of FIBA.

FIBA takes no responsibility and gives no guarantees, warranties or representations, implied or otherwise, for the content or accuracy of the content and opinion expressed in the above article.