Milwaukee Bucks forward Mirza Teletovic will be out indefinitely because of a blockage in his lungs.
The team said Thursday that pulmonary embolisms were discovered in both of Teletovic’s lungs. The 32-year-old consulted with Bucks team physicians after experiencing unusual fatigue earlier this week.
The team provided a basic timetable for his return. Teletovic will begin rehabbing following a 10-day rest period, but the exact date of his return to the lineup remains unclear. Teletovic had arthroscopic surgery on his left knee Nov. 21, and has missed the last 16 games.
The 32-year-old has appeared in just 10 games this season, averaging 7.1 points and shooting 46.7 percent from three-point range in 15.9 minutes per game.
This is the second time in his NBA career that Teletovic has been sidelined due to pulmonary emboli in both of his lungs, with the first occurrence coming during the 2014-15 season when he was a member of the Brooklyn Nets. It was announced in late January of that season that Teletovic would miss the rest of the year as a result of the case of bilateral pulmonary embolus.
Bilateral pulmonary embolus is the presence of multiple blood clots in the lungs, and in Teletovic’s case the condition was treated with blood-thinning medication.
Unlike most injuries or illnesses that come about as part and parcel of the NBA season, this is a case where the stakes are much higher and the greatest of care needs to be taken for the player’s long term health, regardless of his basketball future.
Only 10 days ago, EuroHoops.net shared details of former Nets trainer Tim Walsh’s account of how Teletovic could have died if the condition hadn’t been identified when it was back in 2015. The sharpshooting forward returned in just under three months when he last suffered from these issues, but Milwaukee will certainly be taking every precaution necessary before allowing Teletovic to take to the floor again.
