FC Bayern Basketball stands with Rokas Jokubaitis: The 24-year-old playmaker of the Lithuanian national team suffered a severe ligament injury to his left knee on Monday evening during the EuroBasket group stage game in Tampere against Finland (81–78). This was confirmed by examinations on Tuesday morning. Jokubaitis will be definitely be out for six months, until next spring. The new Bayern point guard will now return to Munich in close coordination with the Lithuanian national team, where the necessary surgery will be performed by a specialist.
Jokubaitis, who signed a three-year contract with the German champions, had been outstanding at EuroBasket so far as the leader of medal contender Lithuania. In five games, he averaged 17.3 points (FG 49.3%, 56.6% 3PT), 8.3 assists, and 2.5 rebounds. Against Finland, he suffered the injury early in the fourth quarter after unfortunate contact while driving to the basket – having previously played a decisive role in handing the hosts their first defeat (16 points, 9 assists).
Surgery in Munich
“Injuries are unfortunately part of sports, but this one is, of course, devastating for Rokas,” said FCBB Sports Director Dragan Tarlac on Tuesday. “We have enjoyed watching Rokas so much at EuroBasket – he has been outstanding and has led his team as a true leader. But we have no doubt that with his spirit and fighting mentality, he will come back stronger from this. We’re waiting for him and will now support him in every possible way so that he can return to the court next year. The same goes for Jo Voigtmann, for whom we also kept our fingers crossed in pursuit of his EuroBasket dream. At least we’ll have him back with us soon. We will now support the coaches as best we can during preseason and the early phase of the season to get through this challenging period together.”
Johannes Voigtmann has already been back in Munich since the weekend. The World Champion is undergoing a minor intervention here and is expected to be sidelined for several weeks.
The season opener for Bayern will take place just twelve days after the end of EuroBasket – on Friday, September 26 (8 p.m.) at the BMW Park against newcomers Jena.