Real Madrid say Deck's shoulder is worse than they thought. It already failed him in August
“Initially, the injury is more serious than we thought,” Real Madrid coach Pedro Martínez said of Gabriel Deck's left shoulder, and he could not give a date for his return. It is the same shoulder that forced Deck out of an Argentina game in August.
- Deck hurt his left shoulder on Tuesday and missed Thursday's EuroLeague win over Partizan (Eurohoops).
- Martínez after Sunday's 120-83 ACB win over Manresa: “I don't know the exact timeline or the treatment he will receive.”
- In late August Deck left Argentina's World Cup qualifier against Canada in the second quarter with the same shoulder and did not come back.
Martínez spoke after Real Madrid's 120-83 home win over Manresa on Sunday. He said the first assessment was worse than expected and that the club would give an update soon, according to Eurohoops and SPORT. No medical report has been published yet.
The worry is the history. Deck had problems with the same shoulder during Argentina's World Cup qualifiers at the end of August, when he left the game against Canada in the second quarter and did not return, Eurohoops recalls.
Real Madrid have won without him so far: Partizan in the EuroLeague on Thursday, and Manresa by 37 points on Sunday. The harder EuroLeague weeks are still ahead.
Plan for weeks, not days
Our editorial team reads Martínez's words as a warning: a coach who cannot give a timeline is waiting on a decision about treatment, and a shoulder that failed in August and again in October rarely needs only rest. We would plan Real Madrid's next weeks without Deck. If the club announces a return of under two weeks, we will say we were too cautious.
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- Confirmed Confirmed: tests by Real Madrid's medical staff found anterior instability in Deck's left shoulder after the dislocation, and he will have surgery in the coming days (Eurohoops, 12 October). The club has not given a timeline for his return.