“The composition of the team has reduced. I mean foreign players. Georgian Viktor Sanikidze also left us. He needs 4 months for treatment”, - stated Evgeniy Bogachev, president of “Unics” Kazan.

The 2015 EuroBasket is planned on September 5-20. According to the statement of Bogachev, it was under question whether Sanikidze plays at EuroBasket or not.

The official website of FIBA-Europe got interested in this fact and said Sanikidze will recover soon.

The 29-year-old Georgian forward of Unics Kazan sustained an injury in a Eurocup game against Zenit St. Petersburg in late January and the initial diagnosis was that he would be sidelined for six to eight weeks. But rather than returning to action in March, Sanikidze was submitted to surgery in Italy.

When news emerged last week that the Russian club and the Georgian player had receded their contract, it fuelled rumours that Sanikidze would be back on a basketball court in approximately four months and was therefore all but ruled out of Georgia's squad for EuroBasket 2015.

In actual fact however, as sources close to the charismatic forward and the Georgian basketball federation have informed fibaeurope.com, Sanikidze will conclude his rehabilitation by late May and start training individually soon after.

Sanikidze is currently in Belgrade, fully immersed in a rehabilitation process which is overseen by the Serbian doctors who worked with the player in Kazan, after he picked up the injury” – the website of FIBA-Europe reports.

Sanikidze averaged 4.5 points and 4.1 rebounds in the VTB League while he contributed 4.7 points and six rebounds per game in the Eurocup.

The versatile forward had averaged 14.6 points, seven rebounds and one assist at EuroBasket 2013 in Slovenia, while he had 13 points, eight boards and 1.5 assists per game for Georgia in last summer's 2nd Qualification Round.

Georgia were drawn in EuroBasket 2015 first round Group C, in Zagreb, together with F.Y.R. of Macedonia, Netherlands, Greece, Slovenia and group hosts Croatia.