United "thinking big picture" with injury concerns

Less than two weeks remain until the revamped Melbourne United tip off their Hungry Jack's NBL26 Season against Adelaide at John Cain Arena.

Going into that Saturday, September 19 fixture, despite winning the 2026 CODE Sports NBL Blitz, United will be sweating on the fitness of a number of their stars.

Most notably are former NBA stars Joe Ingles and Cole Anthony, who didn't feature in either of United's victories against Perth and Illawarra in Bendigo.

But Head Coach Jacob Chance is planning to have his full roster in uniform during their season-opener.

"We're hopeful everyone is available for game one," Chance said during the club's media availability on Tuesday.

"He (Anthony) moved around a little bit. He's progressing pretty nicely, so we're confident he'll be hopefully available [for the NBL27 opener].

"It's that time of year where you don't want to rush things; we're thinking big picture - 33 games - he moved around, he shot… he'll do a little more with the medicos this week, and we'll build his schedule out to get him ready for that first game."

Chance's comments also relate to Shea Ili (hamstring) and Sam Waardenburg (ankle), who were injured at the Blitz, as well as Josh Oduro (ankle), Chris Goulding (finger) and Luke Travers (illness), with the latter not at team training on Tuesday, according to ESPN.

United's Round 1 clash with the Sixers tips off at 7.30pm AEST.