Great Britain's most talented basketball player, Luol Deng, has been hospitalised in the United States and may have meningitis.
The Chicago Bulls star missed game six of the playoff series against the Brooklyn Nets as a flu virus struck the Bulls camp, with players vomiting mid-game in the 95-92 defeat.
Deng has insisted that he missed the match because his symptoms are more serious and that he has never felt weaker.
"It really upsets me that everyone thinks I would miss a game because of the flu. I've played a lot of games with the flu in my career," Deng tweeted on Friday night.
"On Wednesday I was taken to the ER and my symptoms indicated I may have meningitis. In order to play on Thurs I was required to undergo a spinal tap.
"As a result of the spinal tap I suffered the worst headache I've ever experienced and been the weakest I've ever felt."
The 28-year-old is hopeful that he would be able to recover in time to support the team in Saturday's game seven.
"Yesterday I was unable to walk or even get out of bed. I made it to the UC and was sent home. This morning my symptoms worsened," he wrote.
"Now I'm back in the ER where I may have to spend the night... I want my teammates and Bulls fans to know I would NEVER miss a game because of flu.
"If I'm medically cleared I will fly to New York to be with my team and try to win game seven."
The Bulls-Nets series is the last of the first-round playoff match-ups to be decided after all four games on Friday night were decided 4-2.
The seven teams who have made it through so far are the Memphis Grizzlies, Oklahoma City Thunder, Golden State Warriors and San Antonio Spurs in the West, while the New York Knicks, Indiana Pacers and defending champions Miami Heat are through in the East.
The winner of the Bulls-Nets decider will have to take on the Heat in the Eastern conference semi-final.
