Freak injury ends Boomers star’s Olympics

Aussie star Aron Baynes Olympics campaign is over after a freak incident away from the basketball court inside the dressing room.

Aron Baynes with Patty Mills.

Australia suffered a blow to their men’s basketball gold medal hopes Friday with Toronto Raptors star Aron Baynes ruled out of the rest of the Olympics with a neck injury exacerbated by a bathroom fall.

The triple Olympian picked up the problem in the second half of the Boomers’ three-point win over Italy on Wednesday in Saitama, and then worsened the injury by slipping in the bathroom.

In a “complicated series of events”, team doctor David Hughes said Baynes “suffered injury during the match on the court. And then he had a slip in the bathroom, and suffered further injury.”

“It became apparent to the medical stuff that this was a bit more serious than just an average injury and so as a precaution he was taken to hospital and he’s undergoing further tests at the moment,” Hughes said.

Aron Baynes of Team Australia.

Baynes was taken to a local hospital where he underwent a series of examinations.

The injury is not expected to keep Baynes off the court for long, but Basketball Australia’s statement confirmed he won’t return for the Boomers.

“I am really disappointed that I can’t continue in the Olympics,” said Baynes.

“I along with the rest of the team have been working so hard in our quest for a historic Olympic medal and I am gutted that I can’t complete the journey with the boys’, but I have every confidence that they will get the job done”.

💚💛thanks for the luv! https://t.co/NZStFHWDVF

— Aron Baynes (@aronbaynes) July 30, 2021

Coach Brian Goorjian said: “Aron is a big part of our team and we are all hurting for him, but we have great depth in our squad and I have every confidence in the 11 remaining players. We will all stay focused on the task ahead.

“Unfortunately, injuries can happen but this team is resilient and we will adapt”.