Al Horford won't play for Dominican Republic this summer

Al Horford won’t play for Dominican Republic this summer

Mar 24, 2014; Atlanta, GA, USA; Injured Atlanta Hawks center Al Horford (15) (gray sports coat) sits on the bench with team mates during the game against the Phoenix Suns during the second half at Philips Arena. The Suns defeated the Hawks 102-95. Mandatory Credit: Dale Zanine-USA TODAY Sports /

Al Horford had his season cut short this year, playing only 29 games due to a torn pectoral muscle–the second time in his career that he suffered that injury. The Hawks were still able to make the playoffs, however, and almost upset the Indiana Pacers, but ultimately fell short.

With the FIBA World Cup coming up this summer, there has been talk about whether or not Horford would be healthy enough to play in the competition for the Dominican Republic. Well according to reports that broke just minutes ago, Horford will not be healthy enough.

Hawks say Al Horford (torn pectoral muscle) won't play for Dominican Republic National Team this summer but expected ready for training camp
— Marc J. Spears (@MarcJSpears) May 21, 2014

This is bad news for the Dominican Republic, but the Hawks–even if they won’t publicly say it–are probably happy about this. Horford’s their best player, and of course they’re going to want him to be 100 percent going into next season. Horford was a player the Hawks missed sorely in the postseason and they’ll want to get him back to see just how far they can go with him healthy since they made the postseason despite his being out mostly all of the season.

At the end of the day, the FIBA World Cup is just another opportunity for him to suffer an injury, which could derail yet another season.

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