Vincent Collet said that Rudy Gobert suffered a 'shake', better understood as a slight dislocation, in his finger when he got hit with a ball during practice. The coach said Gobert would be ready for the semifinal.
Rudy Gobert played only less than four minutes against Canada. While Evan Fournier explained it was because of a finger injury, France's head coach, Vincent Collet, provided more detail about the team's center.
| Player of the Game | |
|
EFF
22
|
| Isaia Cordinier | |
| Points | 20 |
| Accuracy | 6-10 |
| Rebounds | 3 |
| Assists | 1 |
Both Gobert and Fournier started the game on the bench.
"They play small ball. I wanted Wemby (Victor Wembanyama) to start at five, that's why I put [Guerschon] Yabusele at four. The other change was Isaia Cordinier for Evan Fournier because I wanted a defensive starting five," Collet explained.
Gobert, meanwhile, suffered a minor injury during practice before the game.
"It was not surgery. It was just a shake (a slight dislocation). He had the ball coming at his finger and it got opened. It was not a surgery. He had an MRI to be sure he's ok, but it's not surgery," Collet said.
Asked whether it was the reason why Gobert played only 3 minutes and 41 seconds, the veteran specialist expanded on it.
"Not only. It's the main one," he said. "He's a good player. I know he has pain in his finger despite the surgeon saying he could play. He didn't know exactly, but finally, this morning, he said, 'I can play.'"
"My idea was to protect him if I could do it. I wanted to leave him on the bench. As it was working well with the other big men, I preferred to keep him on the bench. He will be ready for the next game," Collet declared.
