Jovetic undergoes surgery
Fiorentina superstar Stevan Jovetic went under the knife today in the first of a series of operations needed to repair “acute lesions” in the striker’s ligaments. The Fiorentina wunderkind was originally ruled out for six months after hurting his knee in training, but the prognosis now looks much worse, with the 20-year-old expected to be out of action for eight months.
Jovetic will need at least one more surgical procedure to correct tears in his meniscus, ACL and lateral collateral ligament. The surgeries are being handled by Dr Ulrich Boenisch, in Augsburg, near Munich, where both Arjen Robben and Miroslav Klose were treated for injuries.
“He will require two operations," Dr. Boenischaid in an a update released on the Fiorentina website. "The first to stabilise the external collateral ligament and external meniscus, while the stabilisation of the anterior cruciate ligament will be done in a second operation. The lay-off time will be around two months more than the six for a traditional operation, but the two surgeries will guarantee an easier recovery process for the player.”
The injury to Jovetic comes as a crushing blow for Fiorentina, as the Montenegrin international was expected to be a focal point for the team this year. Last season was something of a break out year for the striker, particularly in the Champions League, where he put in a series of impressive performances against Liverpool and Bayern Munich. Fiorentina are rumoured to be looking for a temporary replacement, however, new coach Sinisa Mihajlovic believes they have enough to survive during Jovetic’s layoff.
“I don’t think we’ll be re-entering the transfer market. We have suffered a major loss, but I have players here who have the ability to step in for Jovetic,” he told the Italian press. “I’m thinking of people like Adem Ljajic, who gives his best as an attacking midfielder and I’m expecting a lot from Adrian Mutu.”
Much like Jovetic, Ljajic has dazzling dribbling ability, but the 18-year-old Serb has yet to make an impression in Tuscany, having only appeared in nine league matches since his arrival last January. Fiorentina fans will be hoping this changes, because if not, it’ll be a long eight months in Florence.
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