Things didn’t drag on. On Sunday, Nanterre announced in a press release the injury of its captain Bastien Pinault. A blow for the club which had to do without its back-shooter, victim of a fracture in the right hand but which should not require an operation, for a period of 6 to 8 weeks. Four days later, Nanterre already has its medical freelancer. And it is an old acquaintance of the supporters. The club has indeed recruited this Thursday the former international Edwin Jackson (32 years old).
Jackson, then on loan from Asvel, had indeed launched his professional career in the Hauts-de-Seine during the 2008-2009 season. The club was then in Pro B. Although it is currently in full preparation for EuroBasket with the Blues, Pascal Donnadieu personally took care of the discussions.
“We have always maintained good relations with him since, confides Frédéric Donnadieu, the Nantes president. I spoke to him on the phone and he was very excited to come back. It’s important to have a player who wants to come, we didn’t want to replace Bastien just to make up for his absence. We’re really happy to have Edwin join us. Seeing him here has a symbolic aspect because we were his first pro club. We would be happy to be able to get him back in the saddle after two complicated seasons. »
Victim of several injuries during his last seasons (wrist, hamstrings), the bronze medalist at the 2014 World Cup has not played since January 23. Since 2020, he has worn the colors of the Spanish club Estudiantes Madrid. “I am delighted to return to a club that helped me a lot in my debut and today I hope to be able to return the favor by making up for the absence of Bastien (Pinault) during his recovery. I want to help the team to start the year well and to be the most competitive, ”said the interested party in the club press release. He had not trod the floors of the French Championship since the 2019-2020 season with Asvel.
“We will try to revive it”
“It’s a great story because Nanterre is the club that really launched him after he left Insep and there we are going to try to revive him, confides Philippe Da Silva, right arm of Pascal Donnadieu. He is sharp as rarely. He worked hard to get back in shape. Afterwards, he will need time to recover his feelings. »
Currently in Spain, the gold medalist at the European Under-18 Championship in 2006 – with Antoine Diot or Nicolas Batum – will arrive in Nanterre early next week. He will therefore not be present on Saturday for the club’s first preparation match against Blois (5 p.m., Palais des Sports Maurice-Thorez). He should make his debut the following weekend at the Vannes tournament. Retained with their selections, the Belgian Hans Vanwijn and the Bosnian Miralem Halilovic will arrive in September. The Betclic Elite Championship will start on September 24.