RICCI Rivero's handlers at Virtual Playground bared that a jumper's knee which hobbled him in his final season with University of the Philippines prompted them to seek his release from the Taoyuan Pauian Pilots.
In a statement released to sister site PEP.ph, Virtual Playground CEO Charlie Dy expressed his gloom following the unfortunate news on Friday that the former UAAP star was released even befor playing his first game in Taiwan.
[READ: Ricci Rivero released by Taoyuan before Taian debut]
"It is sad that Ricci Rivero’s professional debut in Taiwan is halted by his existing injury," he said. "The pain is coming from a jumper’s knee that he played through during the UAAP as he really wanted the championship before leaving UP even though he was advised to rest it for it to be fully healed."
Rivero hoped that the pain would go away when he embarked on his new start in Taiwan, but a right ankle sprain in the preseason only worsened his condition, Dy said.
"Since he signed with Taoyuan Pilots right after the season, he continued training regularly until he was asked to fly already to Taiwan last September. Unfortunately, he again suffered a right ankle sprain during an official pre-season game mid-October that causes him not to be at his full potential going to the upcoming P.LEAGUE+ season starting this month," the statement continued.
Dy said that prompted Rivero to formally ask for his release to be able to heal up on his injury, but the agent expressed hope that the partnership will push through once Rivero gets back to full strength.
"We decided to request for a release to give time for recovery which was mutually agreed upon and the team still hopes that once he is 100% recovered he would still choose to consider going back," it ended.
Rivero was supposed to be the first Filipino import in the P.League+ in Taiwan, where he was set to team up with Palestinian star Sani Sakakini.
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