OKC Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari back on the court following appendectomy

With the FIBA World Cup set to begin, OKC Thunder forward Danilo Gallinari is thrilled to be back in action following his appendectomy.

Fans who are in withdrawal or craving basketball action will be thrilled to have FIBA World Cup action to watch starting this Sunday. One OKC Thunder player who’ll be involved in the tournament is duo forward Danilo Gallinari.

With his recent trade to the Thunder Gallinari will join his Italian National team as they vie to win the World Cup and secure a spot in the upcoming 2020 Olympics next summer in Tokyo, Japan. Gallo has been one of the few NBA players who frequently play on his international team each and every offseason.

Many players for the United States team elected to not participate choosing to focus on the upcoming season instead. Given the flood of injuries in recent years that choice is understandable. For the U.S. squad, they still will put an entire roster on the court of NBA players. But for international teams, they don’t have the same options so every NBA player is a bonus.

In the case of the Italian team, those NBA ballers are Gallinari, San Antonio Spurs guard Marco Belinelli and  New Orleans Pelicans Nicolò Melli.

This weekend exhibition games are occurring in Australia and the World Cup event is being held in China. The launch for the FIBA event is August 31 through to September 15.

Gallo underwent his appendectomy on August 4 but healed quickly and as you can see by his recent social media post he’s not only back on the court, he’s looking none the worse for missing time healing.

His return wasn’t a guarantee although most people heal within a two or three-week time span. Case in point, Raptors forward OG Anunoby also had an appendectomy just prior to the playoffs starting but wasn’t as fortunate. In Anunoby’s case, his appendix burst and he suffered a post-surgery infection which kept him off the cour the entirety of the postseason.

Thunderous Intentions will keep you posted on the FIBA World Cup games and players like Danilo Gallinari who’ll be participating. Shai Gilgeous-Alexander pulled out of his participation with Team Canada, but Luguentz Dort may still get selected and Dennis Schroder will be playing for his German National Team.