PSG's Neymar to undergo ankle surgery

Neymar will be ruled out for the rest of the season, with him expecting to undergo surgery to repair ankle ligament damage that will take four months to recover fully.

“Neymar has had several episodes of instability in his right ankle in recent years,” the Paris Saint-Germain (PSG) said. “The medical staff recommended a ligament repair operation to avoid a major risk of recurrence. All the experts consulted have confirmed this necessity,” PSG said in a statement.

PSG said that Neymar would undergo surgery in Doha, Qatar. At least three to four months would be taken for the PSG forward to return to training. Given that a French Ligue 1 final match for the PSG is scheduled on June 4, Neymar will be practically ruled out for the rest of the season. As of Tuesday, Neymar has scored 13 Ligue 1 goals and contributed 11 assists for PSG this season, scoring 24 points in total, standing as the second-highest scorer following Messi (25 points), his PSG teammate. “I’ll come back stronger,” Neymar posted on his Twitter account.

Neymar injured his right ankle in a home match against Lille on Feb. 19. The Brazillian player was stretchered off the field in pain, holding his right ankle with two hands. PSG star had injured his right ankle several times before. He hurt the same ankle during the FIFA World Cup in Qatar while playing for Brazil against Serbia, missing the second and third games.

Without Neymar, PSG will face Bayern Munich on Thursday in the Champions League last-16 second leg where they trail 1-0.


Dong-Wook Kim creating@donga.com