Kostas Sloukas Hints 2026/27 Season Could Be His Last Amid Injury Struggles
Panathinaikos captain Kostas Sloukas admitted that the 2026/27 season could be his last as he deals with a lengthy injury recovery. Meanwhile, coach Željko Obradović addressed severe preseason injury setbacks.
Kostas Sloukas is already 36 years old, and the possibility that the 2026/27 season could be his last in professional basketball is becoming increasingly real. The Panathinaikos captain, who has been recovering from an injury since the end of last season, admitted in an interview with Gazzetta that he will evaluate his physical and mental state during the campaign, and if he feels he can no longer meet the high demands placed upon him, he may retire.
Evaluating the Future
"I want to see how this season develops," Sloukas said. "I want to meet the expectations and demands that come with who I am, both as a captain and as Sloukas, as a personality, and as someone who has represented the club for all these years. The coach has expectations from me, the team has expectations from me, the fans and my teammates have expectations from me."
Then came the most significant statement: "If I cannot meet these expectations, this will be my final season. I will also see how my body feels overall. But all in all, I do not think this will last much longer. I believe I will stop while I am still playing at a high level."
Injury Recovery and Complications
Before addressing his retirement thoughts, Sloukas discussed his medical condition and expressed hope that he would be able to return to action soon. "Right now, because I am in a good stage of recovery, I think I will return to the team in 15 to 20 days. That is what I hope," he noted.
He also explained how his condition worsened following surgery: "The truth is that after the surgery I returned well and had a few good practices. Simply, in the game against PAOK I was supposed to play less than ten minutes, and in the next game I was not supposed to play at all. But due to circumstances, I was forced to play more than 25 minutes. I think I played 30, including overtime."
"The truth is that after that my leg could no longer handle another game the next day. It swelled up, reacted badly, and I could not help the team. In fact, I was forced to miss the entire summer," he added.
Panathinaikos Preseason Struggles
Sloukas's remarks come as Panathinaikos deals with numerous health issues even before the official start of the season. Kendrick Nunn, Nigel Hayes-Davis, Moustapha Fall, and Nikos Rogkavopoulos have all suffered from injuries in recent weeks, delaying the team's full lineup preparations.
Head coach Željko Obradović addressed the situation and clarified how severely the team's preparation has been hindered. "We currently have this situation with health problems, and it is not good. We had quite a few players with national teams, a large number of them. So we played our first preparation tournament after only three joint training sessions together."
