Philippines outside hitter Greg Dolor has been ruled out of the 2017 Southeast Asian Games tournament that will be held from August 21st-27th in Kuala Lumpur. That will hurt the Philippines’ momentum in the sport – after not participating in volleyball at the SEA Games from 2007-2013, they finished 6th out of 8 teams at the 2015 edition.
Dolor is ruled out with an injury to what is described as an “open wound, fractured left pinky,” an inujry suffered in practice this week. The team is currently in Korea for a 13-day training camp from July 22nd-August 3rd at Sungkyunkwan University. the pinky was injured in a blocking drill and he was rushed to Soo Hospital, where he immediately underwent surgery. He was discharged from the hospital on Thursday and returns home to Manila on Friday.
Three pins were inserted into his finger (two of which will be removed, one will be permanent), and the injury that typically takes about two months to heal.
The Southeast Asian Games (SEA Games) are a major, biennial multi-sport event for the current 11 countries of Southeast Asia (Brunei, Cambodia, Indonesia, Laos, Malaysia, Myanmar, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Timor-Leste, Vietnam).
“It is with great sadness to announce that Greg Dolor is already out of the Southeast Asian Games after dislocating his left pinky,” Larong Volleyball sa Pilipinas, Inc. vice president Peter Cayco. “We know that Greg is a valuable member of the team and will play a key role as our men’s national team shoots for a podium finish in the biennial meet. But his health is our primary concern.”
Dolor was on the Philippines’ U23 team at the 2015 U23 Asian Championship, but he didn’t see any action.
The Philippines will have two reserves, John Carascal and Peter Quiel, to choose from as replacements on the final 12-man roster.
The Philippines will play in Group B of the men’s tournament in a pool with Indonesia, Timor-Leste, and 2015 SEA Games silver medalists Vietnam. Pool A will include Myanmar, Malaysia, Cambodia, and defending champions Thailand. This is not the first big injury to impact the SEA Games – Malaysian Captain Sim Jian Qin is still questionable for play after an injury of his own.
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