Jovic: “I want to play, whether in Greece or elsewhere”

Stefan Jovic was having a tough time with his injury but says he is ready to get back on track. His name has been associated with Panathinaikos and the two sides are on the verge of reaching an agreement. He gave an interview to the Serbian mozzart sport in which he talked about the next stage of his career, whatever it will be, the time of his injury, but also his desire to play at a high level again.

“I talked to Radonjic about the Red Star all summer, we talked about everything. There were a few options, but at that moment I couldn’t go back. I would be unreliable if I signed a contract with a team. I didn’t think I was fine. That’s why I told Radonjic that when you find a point guard, sign him up. I don’t know when I can play ‘. Everything else is in the air, even Panathinaikos.

My goal is to play next semester and see how I feel. I want to play. It is important to me to find a team. Well who she will be is determined by my agendas. We will look at the offers and what is best for my family. Whether it will be Greece or another team is less important now“.

Stefan Jovic suffered a number of injuries and was the last to play at top European club level on January 21st against the team who are now keen to include him in their potential. Despite the difficulties, however, he never considered giving up. In fact, as he mentioned, his recent experience with the coronavirus was particularly difficult for him.

“Coronavirus was one of the reasons I left Khimki. Doctors took it easy and said it was nothing, it was common flu. I had difficulty breathing and my heart rate was close to 200. In one match, I had 196 pulses after 1.5 minutes of running. Even after many tests and conversations with doctors in Serbia, I rested for three weeks and it turned out to be a good decision as the coronavirus collapsed and what caused it. “After that I decided to leave Khimki.”

Despite optimistic initial assessments of his injury, Jovic was absent longer than originally expected. “At first, the estimates were optimistic for me. The first time I went to an exam in Munich, I was told I would be out for 5.5 weeks and then I was told I would be out for another eight weeks. So the situation was very difficult, especially psychologically.

Instead of preparing for a new team in the new season, I prepared to sit down and relax. I didn’t think I’d be out that much, but you have to accept some things. Speaking to players who had similar injuries, I realized that the situation was much more serious than I had hoped. “But I never thought about giving up and leaving basketball.”