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FIBA Americas MVP Gustavo Ayon could miss 2014 World Cup as shoulder injury lingers

Jorge Silva / Reuters

Mexico could be without one of their top players when the 2014 FIBA Basketball World Cup gets underway in Barcelona in late August.

Gustavo Ayon, the Atlanta Hawks center who earned MVP honors at the FIBA Americas tournament this past summer, is still recovering from February shoulder surgery that ended his NBA season prematurely.

Ayon told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution via a translated statement that while he is currently at training camp with the team, his status for the tournament is up in the air:

If I’m not recovered, I’m not going to the World Cup. I will only hurt the team. I’m still working and if the shoulder lets me play, I will surely, but if I have questions, I will not.

I’m fine physically, but the shoulder is not a hundred percent, so even though I can feel good while the injury is not healed completely, I will not be able to play.

Ayon is a restricted free agent this summer, and inquiring teams may want an assurance that he won't risk further injury before the 2014-15 season. In 26 games this year, the 29-year-old Ayon averaged 4.3 points and 4.8 blocks in 16.5 minutes for the Hawks, shooting 51 percent from the floor.

In the FIBA Americas tournament, Ayon averaged 17.5 points and 9.2 rebounds over 10 games, helping lead Mexico to a victory over Puerto Rico in the finals with a 20-point, 16-rebound outing.

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