Wizards guard Bilal Coulibaly underwent surgery on right thumb ligament, likely to miss start of season

This is what teams fear when their players lace it up for their home country.

Washington Wizards forward Bilal Coulibaly has undergone surgery to repair a torn ligament in his right thumb, which he suffered while playing for France at EuroBasket. Recovery from the surgery will likely have Coulibaly out for the start of the regular season.

Coulibaly isn’t the only Wizard who was injured playing for France at EuroBasket, center Alex Sarr also had to leave the tournament after injuring his calf. France, the silver medal winners just a couple of years ago at the Paris Olympics, was eliminated from EuroBasket after an upset loss to Georgia in the round of 16.

Coulibaly is part of a young core with potential in Washington, and last season he averaged 12.3 points and five rebounds a game. While he brings some defense and playmaking to the table, Coulibaly needs to be a more efficient shooter to really make a mark — he shot just 28.1% from 3 for the Wizards last season, and that didn’t appear to improve over the summer as he was 3-of-14 from beyond the arc at EuroBasket.

Missing training camp and the start of the season is not ideal for a developing young player, but once healthy and able to return to the court Coulibaly will get plenty of run and opportunity as the Wizards try to grow their young core.