Cleveland Cavaliers guard Donovan Mitchell couldn’t help but be worried after his former Utah Jazz and Cavs teammate Raul Neto suffered a serious injury in the FIBA World Cup.
On Saturday, in Brazil’s opening game against Iran, Neto sustained the injury while attacking the basket in the third quarter. He accidentally slipped before being able to take off for a shot. The ex-NBA playmaker was in serious pain as he writhed while lying on the floor and grabbing his right knee.
Neto was quickly stretchered off the floor, with his teammates visibly shocked by what happened. A photo of his teammate Lucas Dias breaking down in tears following Neto’s injury has been going viral as well, further highlighting how scary the injury was.
The Brazilian Federation of Basketball later confirmed that Neto is out for the rest of the FIBA World Cup due to a knee injury.
“Raul Neto suffered a patellar tendon rupture on his right knee during the third quarter of the match between Brazil and Iran, by the opening of Group G of the World Cup in Jakarta, Indonesia. The athlete is already in the hotel with the delegation and under the care of the medical department. With the diagnosis, he is out of the rest of the World Cup and at this time the CBB deals with the logistical issues of the athlete,” the Federation said in a statement.
As for Mitchell, he took to Instagram to show his support for Neto. He shared the photo posted by the FIBA World Cup showing Dias crying while Neto was down and being attended by teammates and Brazil staff. The Cavs star captioned it with prayer emojis as he hopes for a fast recovery for the veteran guard.
Donovan Mitchell played for a couple of seasons with Raul Neto when he was with the Jazz. Neto was a member of Utah from 2015 to 2019. Then in the 2022-23 season, they reunited in Cleveland.
Here’s to hoping that the Neto will be able to recover quickly. While the tournament is over for him, he still has a lot left in his career.
Brazil, on the other hand, will look to continue their dominant start in the FIBA World Cup after beating Iran 100-59. Sure enough, they’ll be more motivated to keep winning as they try to play not only for the nation but also for the injured Neto.