FCBARCELONA.CAT
Main menu
Content menu
Football
13.05.2008 20:06
Milito operation a success
Jesús Carrillo
Argentine defender Gabi Milito underwent surgery on Tuesday on cruciate ligaments in his right knee, and will be sidelined for a minimum of six months.
Traumatologist Ramon Cugat took charge of the operation on the player who was injured in the Champions League second leg match at Old Trafford, against Manchester United. The operation took place at Clínica Quirón in Barcelona.
Torn ligament
Doctor Ramon Cugat explained what the process had involved, saying “we first performed diagnostic arthroscopy, from which we found the ligament was indeed torn. So we proceeded by extracting the tendon from his left knee to incorporate it into the injured knee, the right one”.
At least six weeks
Doctor Cugat also said that “normally, a cruciate ligament injury
takes about six months to recover from. In this case, we were talking about a replacement cruciate
ligament because it already underwent surgery seven years ago in Argentina by traumatologist Homero
de Agostini (also present in today’s operation) and was replaced by tendon taken from
Milito’s left knee”.
So “the six weeks may end up being as many as nine, as operating on the same knee, and taking out one plasty and replacing it with another, can lead to added complications. The player’s recovery will be seen on a day to day basis”.
To view this content you need the latest version of the Flash Player
Three stages of recovery
FC Barcelona doctor Ricard Pruna, said the player’s recovery will be divided into three
stages. “The first, after the operation, will be revised by Doctor Ramon Cugat and his team.
The second phase, to start in June, will be in Argentina, and will take two months. In this case,
it will the Argentine Federation’s doctor, Homero de Agostini, who will oversee the recovery
process. The third and final stage will be down to the player, from the month of September, in
Barcelona and using the club’s facilities”.
