Jordan will miss Ahmad Al Dwairi for a long period after its star big man was confirmed to have suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Both the Jordan Olympic Committee and the Jordan Basketball Federation announced as much in a joint statement issued on Friday — a day after the Falcons’ 20th Asian Games debut against Chinese Taipei, in which the 33-year-old sustained the injury.
“Medical examinations revealed a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) during the Falcons of Jordan’s match against Chinese Taipei,” it read.
Al Dwairi went down in pain at the 2:09 mark of the opening period after his left knee gave out during an attempt to clean up Perrin Buford’s missed layup. He was aided on the way to the bench and never checked back in.
The big man left the game with four points and five rebounds in seven minutes and 54 seconds of play.
As further scans revealed a tear, Team Jordan will have to fight through the entire tournament without its top big man — a massive blow to their aspirations of returning to the Finals.
A member of the Falcons since 2013, the 7-foot center will go under the knife in the coming days before starting the entire recovery process.
“Al-Dwairi will undergo surgery in the next few days, before embarking on a specialized treatment and rehabilitation program, under the supervision of the medical staff until he regains his fitness,” the statement read.
With this development, Al Dwairi is also expected to miss the remainder of the FIBA Basketball World Cup 2027 Asian Qualifiers, which is now down to its last two windows.
The Jordanians are currently in the bottom half of Group E with a 5-3 record after dropping both of their assignments in Window 4 two weeks ago at the SM Mall of Asia Arena in Pasay.
Following a tremendous 5-1 campaign in the first round, the Falcons opened the second round on a sour note. The team lost narrowly to the Philippines in overtime before getting blown out by the still-unbeaten Australia.
Jordan will face both the Oceania teams in Window 5, the other being New Zealand, in November without Al Dwairi, who averaged 10.4 points, 8.1 rebounds and 2.4 assists in eight games in the ongoing Asian Qualifiers.
“Both the Jordan Olympic Committee and the Jordan Basketball Federation affirm their support for the player during his treatment and rehabilitation until his full recovery,” the statement read.
