MERALCO just can't catch a break.
A Bolts side that had been saddled by injuries and import woes in the PBA Commissioner's Cup took another major setback on Tuesday with the news that star guard Chris Newsome got injured in Gilas Pilipinas practice, sources said.
[READ: Meralco bringing in former TNT, NLEX import KJ McDaniels]
Newsome suffered a strain in his right calf right in the Bolts' first game of the mid-season conference and was sidelined for two weeks, sparking an unfortunate chain of events that also saw Chris Banchero and Aaron Black miss games due to injuries.
The former Ateneo standout has since recovered and was already practicing with both Meralco and Gilas when he injured his other calf in the national team's practice on Monday, multiple sources confirmed to SPIN.ph.
Newsome is set to undergo a medical examination on Wednesday, but sources are not optimistic.
The injury is the last thing Meralco needed at this point after multiple injuries and below-par performances by import Johnny O'Bryant left the Bolts at 11th place with a 1-5 record and in danger of missing the playoffs.
The Bolts are likely to play the league-leading Bay Area Dragons on Friday without Newsome, although they are set to debut former TNT and NLEX import KJ McDaniels as the import replacement for O'Bryant.
Newsome was named to the Gilas 20-man pool for away qualifiers against Jordan and Saudi Arabia despite the initial injury and will most likely be taken out of contention for the 12-man lineup that will leave for the Middle East on November 7.
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