MOSCOW, July 16. /TASS, Andrey Kartashov/. Russian basketball star Timofey Mozgov told TASS on Tuesday that playing for the national team at the upcoming 2019 FIBA World Cup was still under a question as he continued undergoing a medical treatment on his earlier sustained injury.

"I really do want to help [the Russian national team], but I am simply not ready to be physically fit [to join the team] regarding my current condition," Mozgov said in an interview with TASS. "I keep cherishing the hope that I will get better in the days to come, but the miracles are still far from happening."

"I am unable to make pledges at the moment without a hundred-percent guarantee that I will be ready to come and join the national team [for the 2019 FIBA World Cup]," the Russian basketball star stated.

Mozgov is one of the first Russian basketball players to win the much-coveted NBA Champion’s ring, which he snatched playing for Cleveland Cavaliers in 2015. His compatriot and teammate at that time, Sasha Kaun, was the other Russian national to enjoy the privilege of winning the US-based basketball league’s ring of the champion.

Russia’s powerful basketball center Mozgov, who is two meters and 16 centimeters tall (7 feet ad 1 inch) and weighs 125 kg (275 pounds), said he expresses all support for the national team , which is capable of taking medals of the 2019 World Cup in China.

"One sees personally playing for a club what the team looks like and what it is capable of , while a national team has a new history each year with a rookie added on the roster," Mozgov said.

"This is why it is extremely important to see who of the [Russian] players would be added on the national team’s roster, in what mood they will be arriving and what type of relations they will build within the team," Mozgov continued.

"I am sure that we have talented boys on the roster and they will fight for the medals of the World Cup but only in case if they are all physically fit and come to play with their open hearts," he added.

The 2019 FIBA World Cup will be hosted by China between August 31 and September 15, and the Russian national team was seeded following the draw earlier in the year in Group B alongside the teams from Nigeria, Argentina and South Korea.