6 Months Out After Knee Surgery, Jean Montero's Timeline Runs Past the End of the EuroLeague Regular Season
Olympiacos said Montero had lateral meniscus surgery on his left knee and will miss about six months, past the April 16 end of the EuroLeague regular season.
Photo: Official EuroLeague headshot, credit EuroLeague Basketball.
Olympiacos announced Friday that Jean Montero had surgery to repair the lateral meniscus in his left knee and is expected to miss six months. Six months from Oct. 30 lands at the end of April, and the EuroLeague regular season ends April 16, so the 23-year-old guard who was averaging 15.5 points and 4.5 assists is on track to miss every remaining regular-season round, by our count.
The math on the calendar
The 2026-27 EuroLeague regular season runs 38 rounds. Olympiacos host Armani Olimpia Milan tonight in Round 9, which leaves 30 rounds, tonight included, before the regular season closes on April 16. Montero already sat out Rounds 7 and 8. If the six-month estimate holds, he plays six of 38 regular-season games, by our count from the league schedule.
Seeds 7 through 10 play the Play-In on April 20 and 23. Best-of-five playoff series start April 27 and finish by May 12. The Final Four semifinals are May 28 and the title game is May 30. Eurohoops reported a best-case return around May.
The club gave no return date beyond the six-month estimate.
What Olympiacos paid for
In July, Olympiacos paid Valencia's full buyout clause to land Montero on a three-year deal through 2029, coming off a season in which he made the All-EuroLeague First Team, won EuroLeague Rising Star and was named EuroLeague Playoffs MVP while leading Valencia to its first Final Four. He also won Liga Endesa Finals MVP as Valencia took its second Spanish title.
His last Valencia season put up 15.2 points on 36.2% from three, 4.5 assists and 1.1 steals across 75 games in all competitions, per the club. In the EuroLeague alone he averaged 14.4 points and 4.8 assists.
In his first six games with Olympiacos, Montero scored 93 points with 27 assists, by our count from the official game log, in 24.0 minutes a night. He shot 52.5% on twos and 93.1% at the line. The three wasn't falling at 28.6%, and he still posted a 20.3 PIR (the EuroLeague's efficiency rating). His best night was 26 points and 35 PIR in a 102-97 win at Valencia, his old building, on Oct. 13.
Olympiacos went 5-1 in those six games. Without him in Rounds 7 and 8, they split. They sit 6-2 through eight rounds.
The Barcelona game and what came after
The injury came in Round 6 at Barcelona on Oct. 16, and Montero kept playing through it in the second half, per Eurohoops. He finished that 105-100 win with 13 points and seven assists in 20 minutes. Sport24 reported Friday that conservative treatment wasn't working, and Gazzetta reported the damage turned out more complex than the first estimates.
Where the minutes go
Montero carried a big share of the creation. He had seven assists in three of his six games and got to the line often enough to go 27-for-29 on free throws, by our count from the game log.
Olympiacos already moved before the surgery news. They added John Konchar on a two-year deal last week, a 30-year-old wing with 363 NBA games, and The Dyme covered that signing. Konchar is a wing.
Olympiacos are 6-2 through eight rounds. In the EuroLeague format, the top six teams go straight to the playoffs and seeds 7 through 10 go to the Play-In.
Sources
- Olympiacos B.C. on X, via Gazzetta: club statement on the lateral meniscus surgery and six-month absence, report that the injury proved more complex than first estimates, Round 9 vs. Armani Olimpia Milan.
- Eurohoops: Jean Montero undergoes knee surgery, out for six months: no official return date, best case around May, injured in Round 6 vs. Barcelona and played through pain, Konchar already added.
- BasketNews: Jean Montero undergoes surgery, faces long-term recovery: 15.5 points, 3.5 rebounds and 4.5 assists in six EuroLeague games, Sport24 report on conservative treatment, Olympiacos 6-2 through eight games, Milan 1-7.
- EuroLeague: competition format and 2026-27 schedule: 38 rounds, regular season ends April 16, Play-In April 20 and 23, playoffs April 27 to May 12, Final Four May 28 and 30.
- BasketScore: Jean Montero EuroLeague 2026-27: official game log and averages (24.0 minutes, 52.5% on twos, 28.6% from three, 93.1% free throws, 20.3 PIR), 13 points and 7 assists in 20 minutes in the 105-100 win at Barcelona, and 26 points and 35 PIR in the 102-97 win at Valencia.
- Olympiacos BC: Montero 'docks' in Piraeus: three-year deal, born July 3, 2003, 2025-26 EuroLeague averages, accolades.
- AS: Montero firma con el Olympiacos hasta 2029: contract through 2029 after the buyout was paid.
- Valencia Basket: Jean Montero parts ways with Valencia Basket: full buyout paid, 131 games, 2025-26 all-competition line (75 games, 15.2 points, 36.2% from three, 4.5 assists, 1.1 steals), club's best EuroLeague finish and second Liga Endesa title.
- The Dyme: John Konchar signs a two-year deal with Olympiacos.
Figures marked "by our count" are the desk's own math from the linked schedule and stat pages.
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