The French power forward has averaged 10.3 points and 5.0 rebounds so far this season.
Guerschon Yabusele out indefinitely with knee injury
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Real Madrid has confirmed that forward Guerschon Yabusele will be out indefinitely due to a partial rupture of the internal lateral ligament in his left knee.
The Frenchman underwent tests on Friday to determine the seriousness of the injury, with Yabusele having had some discomfort during Los Blancos’ 91-73 Round 9 win against AS Monaco in the Turkish Airlines EuroLeague one day prior.
In fact, Yabusele played just 12:26 in Round 9 against Monaco and didn’t step onto the WiZink Center court at all in the second half. He also missed Rounds 5 and 6 with an injury.
A strong season so far by Yabusele
Yabusele is averaging the second-most minutes of any Real player so far this season in the EuroLeague at 23:33 per game, which is only behind guard Facu Campazzo’s 24:20. He is posting the third-most points on Los Blancos’ roster with 10.3 per game, while he is the team’s second-best rebounder with 5.0 boards per night.
Curiously, although those 10.3 points per game are Yabusele’s lowest since arriving at Real in the summer of 2021, his shooting percentages are the most accurate they have been. The 27-year-old is averaging 64.3% on two-pointers, 56.5% on triples, the fifth-best mark in the EuroLeague, and a perfect 100.0% from the free-throw line.
As such, this injury certainly comes as a blow for Real head coach Chus Mateo. Los Blancos, the reigning EuroLeague champions, have been incredibly impressive so far this season, having gone 9-0 to start the 2023-24 EuroLeague season.
Who could step in for Yabusele?
In the absence of Yabusele, it is expected that the ‘4’ position will be occupied by Gabriel Deck or Mario Hezonja. The 19-year-old Eli Ndiaye, who started in the 2023 EuroLeague Championship Game, could be another option once he recovers from a facial injury he picked up in training.
Real will likely be without Yabusele for an extended period of time, so it will be important that Deck, Hezonja and, once he’s back, Ndiaye step up to make up for the France international’s absence.