Nico Mannion misses start of Virtus season with intestinal infection

Former Arizona point guard Nico Mannion is recovering from an intestinal infection which has delayed his debut with Italian club Virtus Bologna.

Mannion left the Golden State Warriors to join Virtus last month but was prevented from participating in training camp due to the infection.

Mannion was absent for Virtus’ preseason game against Happy Casa Brindisi on Friday Sept. 3. Afterwards, Virtus head coach Sergio Scariolo told local media that the team is looking to sign a young replacement for Mannion.

“Mannion won’t be there at the start of the championship and so we need a player to avoid putting ‘squeezing’ the others,” Scariolo said, according to EuroHoops.net. “We are looking on the market for an element to be included, a point guard who can also remain in the future. Because of that we focus on young people who can give something important, rather than a veteran addition.”

Not much is known about Mannion’s condition, but a photo taken from Virtus’ game a few days ago appears to show a noticeably frail Mannion watching warmups courtside.

Here is Mannion photographed by Virtus upon his arrival on Aug. 21.

A little more than a month ago, Mannion was competing for the Italian national team in the 2020 Tokyo Olympics, which indicates the infection began sometime after play concluded.

Mannion addressed his absence in a Aug. 27 Instagram post written in Italian. Here is an English translation of the post per Google:

“Tonight the team will be presented in Folgaria and as you know I will not be able to be there. I want to apologize to the fans who have been making me feel their warmth by any means since I landed in Bologna, you can’t imagine how much I would like to be there with my teammates. But I’m getting better and I’ll be with them soon.

“I take this opportunity to thank the Company, especially Massimo Zanetti, Luca Baraldi and Paolo Ronci, all the medical staff, Sergio Scariolo and Matteo Panichi for their closeness and everything they are doing for me. I can’t wait to be able to repay their efforts and your wait in the field. Come on Virtus!”

We wish Nico a speedy and healthy recovery.