German basketball national coach Álex Mumbrú must stay longer than planned in a Barcelona hospital due to pancreatitis. The stay now exceeds four weeks, despite an initial three-week estimate. The federation still hopes for his return for the World Cup qualifiers starting late November.
Álex Mumbrú, the 46-year-old head coach of the German basketball national team, traveled to Spain on September 15—one day after winning the European Championship title in Riga—for treatment in his home country. He was admitted to a hospital in Barcelona suffering from pancreatitis. "I have to stay in the clinic for a total of three weeks to recover properly. That's already tough," Mumbrú told the "Bild" newspaper a few days after his admission.
The originally planned three weeks have already passed, but now the coach must stay more than a week longer, as reported by the Spanish sports newspaper "Mundo Deportivo." This was confirmed by the German Basketball Federation (DBB) to the news agency dpa. According to the report, Mumbrú has lost 16 kilograms of body weight. After the hospital stay, he is to recover further before the World Cup qualifiers begin on November 28 in Neu-Ulm against Israel.
The DBB continues to plan for Mumbrú's return for these games, though it is unclear if that is realistic. Germany is considered the favorite but will have to do without many EM players, including NBA pros like captain Dennis Schröder and Franz Wagner of the Orlando Magic.
During the EM, Mumbrú missed the entire preliminary round due to illness; his assistant Alan Ibrahimagić took over coaching. Mumbrú returned to the sidelines in the round of 16 but appeared exhausted and handed back to Ibrahimagić, though he remained with the team.