Terrence Romeo is out indefinitely for San Miguel.
Beermen head coach Leo Austria bared that the former scoring king is expected to miss games in the upcoming PBA Philippine Cup due to back spasms.
“He was not able to practice in the last few weeks because of his back spasms,” he said during the league’s Media Day Thursday at Novotel Manila Araneta.
“We don’t know yet how many games. We’re giving him ample time to recover one hundred percent,” the four-time Coach of the Year added.
Romeo hasn’t been practicing with the team for weeks now, according to Austria, following the doctors’ advice for him to rest at home.
The 30-year-old was not with SMB in the Media Day.
“Mga four weeks na siyang not practicing with us dahil nahihirapan siya tumayo. Kapag spasms sa lower back mo, every movement involved yan, so mahirap.
“He was advised by the doctors to rest,” he said. “Nasa bahay lang siya.”
This marks yet another setback for Romeo.
It could be recalled that he dealt with a pair of injuries in the last two seasons, first a dislocated shoulder early in the 2020 Philippine Cup bubble in Clark and then a knee injury in the following all-Filipino conference.
Austria admitted that Romeo’s absence is a big loss to San Miguel, but at the same time optimistic as it will be an opportunity for the others to step up.
“The loss of Terrence in the first few games means it will give additional time to the minutes of other players,” he said.
“So they’re preparing for that.”