Xavier Cooks will reportedly miss the FIBA World Cup after injuring his knee at Australian Boomers training camp.
Cooks has been diagnosed with a meniscus tear in his left knee, according to Fox Sports' Olgun Uluc.
Xavier Cooks has suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee, per multiple sources. He’s been ruled out of the Australian Boomers’ 2019 FIBA World Cup campaign.https://t.co/PDglLpuexN
— Olgun Uluc (@OlgunUluc) August 13, 2019
The 23-year-old was on track to make his international debut at the World Cup, but will now watch the tournament from the sidelines.
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The injury is a cruel blow for Cooks, as he rated a Boomers call-up his 'main goal in life' after the squad was announced earlier this month.
"As cool as it would to be in the NBA one day, my main goal in life was to play for the Boomers," Cooks said, per the South Coast Register.
"To have the chance to play for my country at the World Cup, it doesn't get much better than that."
Boomers head coach Andrej Lemanis must now select a replacement for Cooks to add to his 12-man squad, with Mitch Creek, Deng Adel and Brock Motum the biggest names missing from the original roster.
Australian Boomers World Cup squad
| Position | Player | Team |
| C | Aron Baynes | Phoenix Suns |
| C | Andrew Bogut | Sydney Kings |
| F/C | Jonah Bolden | Philadelphia 76ers |
| G | Matthew Dellavedova | Cleveland Cavaliers |
| G | Cameron Gliddon | Brisbane Bullets |
| G | Chris Goulding | Melbourne United |
| F | Joe Ingles | Utah Jazz |
| F | Nicholas Kay | Perth Wildcats |
| F/C | Jock Landale | Žalgiris Kaunas |
| G | Patty Mills | San Antonio Spurs |
| G | Nathan Sobey | Brisbane Bullets |