Nigel Hayes-Davis injury: Panathinaikos lose their 'glue' in the opening stretch

Panathinaikos have confirmed that forward Nigel Hayes-Davis will be sidelined for approximately six weeks with a fractured bone in his left hand. The announcement follows news that Kendrick Nunn, the club's marquee signing, suffered a torn medial meniscus in his right knee and may not return until early October. The defending EuroLeague champions will begin the season without two of their most dynamic perimeter scorers. The real concern is not the injuries themselves, but how the team reshapes its offense during the first month, when every loss could affect playoff seeding. Hayes-Davis, born in December 2026, was described as 32 in the original report, though that may be inaccurate for the 2026-25 season. Regardless, he remains an efficient forward who spaces the floor and defends multiple positions. His absence removes a key connector in Panathinaikos's switch-heavy defensive system. Nunn, a high-usage scorer with an NBA career average around 15 points per game, will miss the entire preseason and the first month of competition. His injury history raises durability concerns, and his delayed integration could affect the team until late autumn. Coach Ergin Ataman will rely more heavily on Kostas Sloukas and Lorenzo Brown for ball-handling, with Marius Grigonis, Cedi Osman and Juancho Hernangómez taking on larger wing roles. The defense is less affected than the offense, but the creative shot-making of Nunn is hard to replace. With the EuroLeague format rewarding a top-six finish, a slow start could push Panathinaikos toward the play-in round. Still, the club has one of the deepest rosters in Europe and does not need an emergency signing. The coordinated return timeline for both players suggests a conservative medical plan targeting a specific fixture. The first month will reveal whether the defending champions can absorb this double blow.