There will be no Robert Bolick for NorthPort when the PBA season resumes in a bubble setting in Clark, Pampanga.

As first reported by Spin.ph, Bolick was left out by the Batang Pier in their lineup for the season restart due to fitness concerns.

NorthPort head coach Pido Jarencio said Bolick, who suffered a knee injury last year, did not get the thumbs up from renowned orthopedic surgeon Dr George Canlas to play in the bubble.

“We will not take that risk because the doctor ordered that he still cannot play,” Jarencio told Rappler in Filipino.

“Why would we force him to play if there is no go signal from the doctor?”

Bolick saw his impressive rookie season come to a screeching halt after sustaining a partial tear on his right anterior cruciate ligament in the middle of the Governors’ Cup.

He already joined NorthPort in practice in August, but his PBA comeback will have to wait.

“[Robert] is not fully healthy because if he is, there should have been a go signal from the doctor,” Jarencio said.

The Batang Pier will head into the season reboot coming off arguably their best playoff run in franchise history.

Seeded No. 8 in the Governors’ Cup quarterfinals, NorthPort stunned the twice-to-beat NLEX to reach the semifinals, where it lost to eventual champion Barangay Ginebra. – Rappler.com