Knee injury leaves cloud over Martin for Cairns trip

Martin has been nursing a minor knee problem which saw him sit out Illawarra’s final pre-season match against Townsville last week and regular training duties.

He remained off the court on Monday and will meet with a specialist on Tuesday before determining if he is fit to travel with the Illawarra squad to Cairns.

The Hawks leave on Wednesday for their season opener.

“I am probably 50-50 at best just because I haven’t been training,’’ Martin said.

“Going from doing nothing into an NBL game is a pretty big jump. 

“It is not the smartest thing to do but if the specialist says that I can train [on Tuesday] then I will go back and train in the afternoon and see how it pulls up after that. 

“If it is good then I will probably play but I think that is probably a bit wishful thinking.”

Martin had been suffering from soreness in the knee for a ‘couple of months’ heading into the NBL Blitz.

The Hawks won two of their three matches at the tournament but the quick fire schedule came at a price for Martin. 

He was unable to back-up two days after the Blitz ended for the club’s 95-87 triumph over the Crocodiles.

‘‘Most of us are late 20’s, if not 30’s in this group so we don’t recover as quickly. That lack of recovery time with it highlighted that [the knee] was not right,’’ Martin said.

‘‘We went and got a scan on it and it showed a small tear of the meniscus which could have been there for a longer amount of time.

‘‘I am glad they found it now and I can get on top of it. 

“Hopefully it is just a matter of a bit of rest and I am fine to go.’’

If Martin is unable to play, fellow guards Kevin Lisch, Kevin White and Tyson Demos will be forced to pick up the load.

He was confident it was something the Hawks’ squad could manage.

‘‘The system Bevo has got is not point guard dominant,’’ he said.

‘‘You are not coming down running a set every time. It is free flowing basketball.

‘‘Basically one through four can bring the ball down the court. 

“We don’t want AJ [Ogilvy] or Larry [Davidson], those are the big boys we want in the middle or one the rim but everybody else has got that licence to get a rebound and push the ball down the court.

‘‘That is great because the pressure is not just on myself, Kevin Lisch, Kev White and Tyson [Demos] to a certain extent.’’

Results of Martin’s visit to the specialist on Tuesday are also likely to paint a clearer picture of whether he will be able to play in Illawarra’s second NBL clash against Melbourne United on Sunday.

He could be forced to wait until next Wednesday’s home meeting against the New Zealand Breakers to make his season debut.

All other players on the Illawarra squad trained on Monday in preparation for the matches.