Garrison Mathews Out for Milano's Friday Clash at Partizan
Olimpia Milano guard misses the trip to Partizan in the season opening EuroLeague round due to a leg muscle injury, as coach Peppe Poeta plans more minutes for Jason Burnell.
When Partizan take the court at Belgrade Arena on Friday, September 25, at 8:45 p.m. against Olimpia Milano, one name Italian fans had counted on all summer will be missing from the visitors’ bench. Garrison Mathews, the guard brought in as a replacement for Armoni Brooks, will watch the EuroLeague season opener from the sidelines with a leg muscle injury.
The problem surfaced Sunday morning at practice, when Mathews felt pain in his leg and had to cut the session short. According to Italy’s La Repubblica, it is a precaution rather than a serious strain, but that is still enough to keep him out of the season opener in Belgrade. He has been training individually since Sunday, at Olimpia’s auxiliary gym in Assago.
Milan are optimistic about the coming days. Mathews is expected to be ready as soon as Tuesday, when Olimpia host Virtus Bologna at home in EuroLeague round two. The trip to Partizan, then, based on the club’s current plans, remains the only game he is certain to miss.
Who Is Garrison Mathews
Mathews joined Milan this summer from the NBA, brought in to replace Armoni Brooks, so his EuroLeague debut has been pushed back before he has even played a single minute for his new club. He spent seven seasons in the world’s top league, appearing in 329 games for Washington, Houston, Atlanta and Indiana. He has changed jerseys often, but everywhere he has gone he has been known as a reliable three point shooter.
His absence forces coach Peppe Poeta into a tactical adjustment on the wing, right before one of the tougher road trips of the early season. Jason Burnell is expected to see more minutes as a result, and could log his first meaningful playing time in his new jersey at Belgrade Arena.
Partizan head into the game off six preseason matches. The black and whites beat Zenit, Fuenlabrada, Besiktas and Burgas, while losing to Hapoel and PAOK. That is the form Partizan bring into the official start of the season, against a rival arriving in Belgrade without one of its summer signings.
For Partizan, Mathews’ injury does not change much in the planning, an opponent is still an opponent. For Olimpia, though, it is an uncomfortable way to open the EuroLeague, without a player they had counted on for exactly this kind of matchup. Mathews’ next test comes Tuesday, in the home game against Virtus Bologna.
