Rio's João Gabriel Schlittler will not compete in the World Cup semi-final this Monday, in Belo Horizonte. The heavyweight category athlete suffered an injury to his right knee and his participation in the tournament was vetoed by the Brazilian team doctor, Breno Schor.
Ranked second in his group in the morning, João Gabriel was supposed to face Frenchman Teddy Riner this evening to decide a place in the tournament's final. The injury occurred in the defeat to Italian Paolo Bianchessi, in the Brazilian's first fight in the tournament. Injured, he still won two fights.
“The injury is not serious, but he is in the same situation as Tiago Camilo. He would enter protecting himself and another region would become vulnerable. To prevent him from getting hurt elsewhere, it’s best not to take any risks,” explained Schor.
As he cannot enter the mat, the current world champion in the category, Riner, advances to the final and waits for the winner of the clash between Walter Santos and Paolo Bianchessi to find out who will decide the gold medal.
Schlittler will undergo an MRI exam this week to find out the real severity of the injury. Breno Schor's expectation is that he will recover in time for the World Cup in Moscow, Russia, at the end of the month.
With this incident, the athlete joins the already extensive list of judokas in the Brazilian national team with injuries. In addition to João Gabriel, world champions João Derly and Tiago Camilo were also casualties for the same reason. The first tore the ligaments in his right foot and the second felt a sprain in his left knee.
Leandro Guilheiro didn't even go to Belo Horizonte, with gastritis caused by a food infection. Even the reserve team has injury problems. According to the Brazilian Confederation, Alexandre Lee, Vânia Ishii and Danielle Zangrando will not compete in the World Cup due to injuries.
Comments