Olympiacos Lose Fournier for 20 Days as Montero Is Doubtful for Fenerbahce

By Taki Panos

Tuesday was supposed to be a party in Piraeus. Olympiacos opened their new House of Legends store with the basketball squad on hand, and Evan Fournier was one of the stars of the afternoon. Then came the medical update. Fournier will be out for about 20 days with a large hematoma in his left shoulder and a sprain of the medial collateral ligament in his right knee, according to the club's update as reported by Sport24 and Gazzetta on Tuesday, October 20, 2026. Fair to say the mood changed.

For readers who do not follow EuroLeague basketball closely, Fournier is the French guard who spent 12 seasons in the NBA with Denver, Orlando, Boston, New York and Detroit, as Eurohoops and the club's signing announcement list, before joining Olympiacos in September 2024. He made the All-EuroLeague Second Team in his first season, averaging 16.1 points in 37 EuroLeague games, per Hoops Rumors and the club, and in July 2025 he signed a three-year extension that keeps him in Piraeus through 2028-29.

This season he has been a steady piece rather than the headline act. Fournier is averaging 11.3 points, 2.2 rebounds, 2.7 assists and 1.2 steals in about 24 minutes across six EuroLeague games, Sport24 reported. He started in Barcelona on Friday, when Olympiacos won 105-100 in overtime at the Palau, according to the club's match report, but he was left out on Sunday in Ioannina, where a thin squad beat Vikos Falcons 79-68 without him, Jean Montero, Tyrique Jones, Bryant Dunston or Tyler Dorsey.

The calendar is not kind. Olympiacos host Fenerbahce on Friday, October 23, at 21:15 at the Sunel Arena, the Olympic indoor hall in Ano Liosia, in round 7 of the EuroLeague, according to the club's ticket notice, and Sport24 says Fournier's absence from that game is a given. After that, Gazzetta lists a Greek Basket League trip to Promitheas on October 25, and Sport24 and Gazzetta both list the road game at Besiktas on October 28 (19:30), plus home games against Armani Milan on October 30 and Red Star on November 6, both at 21:15 Greek time.

The hopeful date is November 12. Sport24 reported that Fournier could be back for the game against Dubai that night at 21:15, as long as he has fully recovered. That is an "if," not a promise. Shoulder and knee problems together can be stubborn, and nobody wants to rush a 33-year-old back into a packed schedule.

Montero is the other worry. The Dominican guard has a sprained right ankle and a ligament injury in his left knee, and he is doubtful for Fenerbahce, Gazzetta and Sport24 both reported. He has already started treatment, and Gazzetta wrote that the staff are being careful so he can return as soon as possible with minimal damage. In Barcelona, the club's report noted, Montero told the staff about knee discomfort at halftime, chose to keep playing through the pain, and still helped close out the win in overtime.

That leaves the backcourt looking very short. Gazzetta counted the guards available to coach Giorgos Bartzokas: Codi Miller-McIntyre, Omiros Netzipoglou and Cory Joseph, with Joseph used mostly at point guard. Dorsey remains out of the team. Sport24 reported that he trained on his own on Tuesday, and Gazzetta wrote that he has given his explanation to general manager Nikos Lepeniotis, with the Angelopoulos brothers and Bartzokas set to decide his future together. We covered how the Dorsey situation started last week.

There is at least one guard in form. Miller-McIntyre carried Olympiacos at Vikos with 17 points, 8 assists and 4 rebounds, according to the club, and his two late threes sealed it. Up front, Sasha Vezenkov is flying after being named EuroLeague round 6 MVP for his 25 points and 6 rebounds in Barcelona, per the club. The Reds will need both, plus minutes from players who usually wait their turn.

The Fenerbahce game matters for more than one reason. After round 6, Panathinaikos, Olympiacos and Fenerbahce shared first place in the EuroLeague at 5-1, according to the club's own standings table and Eurohoops, and Sport24 noted that the visit of Sarunas Jasikevicius's team is followed by a demanding double-round week against Besiktas and Milan. Olympiacos are also 3-0 in the Greek league, per the club, so the record is strong. The bodies are the problem. The reigning European champions are playing without several of the guards they built this roster around.

None of that dampened Fournier's mood at the store opening. Sport24 reported that captain Kostas Papanikolaou played floor manager and served his French teammate himself, and Fournier later joked on X that Papanikolaou secretly loves him more but won't admit it. Asked about the store, Fournier told reporters, as Gazzetta quoted him: "It is good for basketball, the team, the fans, to have a place where people can get merchandise. I would take Papanikolaou's jersey for a friend of mine. The symbol of the team. The captain, the most important player" (translated from Greek).

He has been in a talkative mood all week. On the Pick n Roll show on Magenta TV, as Sport24 reported on Monday, Fournier said there is no comparison with the NBA: "In the NBA you do not have a relationship with the owners. You see them maybe once or twice a year" (translated from Greek). He added that he signed his extension at Giorgos Angelopoulos's home on Mykonos and said he is "grateful to play for a team that has such great owners" (translated from Greek).

My take: 20 days is not a disaster, but the timing stings. Olympiacos have won ugly and won late all autumn, two overtimes in Spain included, and depth was already the issue before this update. Losing Fournier while Montero is doubtful and Dorsey is in limbo means Bartzokas has to find minutes in places he would rather not look. If the Reds can split the next four big games and get both guards back healthy for November, they will be fine. Rushing either one back would be the real mistake.

Next up is Fenerbahce at the Sunel Arena on Friday night, the first real test of life without Fournier. We will follow every step of his recovery and the rest of the EuroLeague race, so keep an eye on our Greek Sports section for every result. Twenty days, five games, one long wait for Piraeus.

Sources: Sport24, Gazzetta, Olympiacos BC, Eurohoops, Hoops Rumors.

Image: Olympiacos crest, via Wikimedia Commons (CC0).