Ekpe Udoh's comeback to Europe on the roster of Virtus Segafredo Bologna was not the most successful.
According to Italian news outlet Il Corriere di Bologna, the club has exercised its option to terminate the contract with the player. Udoh had previously signed a two-year deal last summer.
Udoh's season got off to a very rough start. During an Italian Supercup quarterfinal match between Virtus and Bertram Tortona, which was the very first official match of the season, the Nigerian-American big man went down with a knee injury.
It was later revealed that the player suffered a complete tear to the patellar tendon of his left knee, marking the end of the season for him. Although there were some hopes that Udoh could come back during the latter months of the season, they were never fulfilled.
Before coming back to play for Virtus, Udoh's last season in Europe was in 2017 when he helped Fenerbahce Beko Istanbul win the EuroLeague trophy and was named the Final Four MVP.
Afterward, the 35-year-old spent two seasons as a member of the Utah Jazz and played in China for the following two years.
Udoh's injury:
| Virtus Segafredo Bologna | |
Position | Player | Status |
PG | Milos Teodosic | Signed until 2022+1 |
PG | Alessandro Pajola | Signed until 2025 |
PG | Nico Mannion | Signed until 2023 |
PG | Michele Ruzzier | Signed until 2023 |
PG/SG | Daniel Hackett | Signed until 2024 |
SG/PG | Iffe Lundberg (story) | Signed until 2024 |
SG | Marco Belinelli | Signed until 2023 |
SG | Isaia Cordinier | Signed until 2023 |
SF | Kyle Weems | Signed until 2023 |
SF | Awudu Abass | Signed until 2024 |
PF | Kevin Hervey | Signed until 2023 |
PF/C | Jordan Mickey (story) | Signed until 2023 |
PF/C | Ismael Bako (story) | Signed until 2023 |
C | Mouhammadou Jaiteh | Signed until 2023 |
C | JaKarr Sampson | Signed until 2023 |
PF/C | Ekpe Udoh | Signed until 2023 |
Coach | Sergio Scariolo | |
Expired contract | Tornike Shengelia, Amedeo Tessitori (will not return), Amar Alibegovic (will not return) | |
Rumored to leave | Kevin Hervey, Nico Mannion, Ekpe Udoh, Jakar Sampson | |
Interested | Nikola Milutinov (story), Tornike Shengelia, Daquan Jeffries (story) |