Breaking News! Xu Jie Injured and Hospitalized for Examination, Possibly Missing the Guangdong-Fujian Clash; Fans Blame Zhu Fangyu
On January 17th, Beijing time, Xu Jie successfully kept the All-Star MVP in Guangdong, which is certainly worth celebrating. However, behind the MVP title lies a full attendance record of 31 games and the fatigue of playing a full 40 minutes each game. Some fans of the Guangdong team are worried that without someone to share the ball-handling pressure, Xu Jie will eventually get injured if he continues like this. In fact, Xu Jie has indeed encountered injury problems, as some fans discovered him at Jinjiang Hospital in Fujian, waiting in line to register! One fan even approached Xu Jie to inquire about his condition, to which Xu Jie replied that he was at the hospital for a wrist check due to discomfort. As for whether he will participate in the Guangdong-Fujian match on Saturday, Xu Jie said, "We'll have to see how it goes."
In reality, Xu Jie has been playing through minor injuries and illnesses. Previously, when he had a fever, he could only force himself to play because he knew that if he didn't, Guangdong might immediately collapse even against the bottom-ranked teams in the league. During the Guangdong-Guangzhou game, after completing a switch layup for a 2+1, Xu Jie collided with Guo Ailun in mid-air and twisted his wrist when landing and being propelled forward by inertia. Xu Jie's wrist had already had some minor issues before, and this collision further aggravated the injury.
Some fans also mentioned seeing the Guangdong team doctor wrapping Xu Jie's wrist with bandages during a live broadcast on a certain platform. At this point, Xu Jie's discomfort was already quite strong, and the pain intensified after landing in Fujian, forcing him to go to Jinjiang Hospital for an examination under the accompaniment of the team doctor. It can be said that compared to other injuries, this wrist injury is considered a "minor ailment," and Xu Jie has almost become accustomed to playing through injuries. Since the second stage, Guangdong has been without Hu Mingxuan and a small foreign aid, leaving Xu Jie as the only initiator for the entire team. The defensive intensity he faces is unimaginable for most people, naturally increasing the likelihood of injury. Honestly, up until now, Xu Jie has still been able to play "healthily," which is indeed a miracle. If you put his experience on any other domestic guard in the league, it would be questionable whether they could even finish the second stage.
This time, Xu Jie's injury undoubtedly places full responsibility on Zhu Fangyu. This season, Guangdong has had three small foreign players, from Barton to Arms and then to Rice, each worse than the last. Every time fans lament that the next one couldn't possibly be worse, Zhu Fangyu always manages to bring in a foreign player with even lower standards and poorer skills. Even if Guangdong had a qualified small foreign player in the second stage, they wouldn't necessarily carry the team, but at least they could provide Xu Jie with some substitute time and relieve some of the ball-handling and organizing pressure. How did Xu Jie end up in this state!