Barcelona have confirmed that Luis Suarez will undergo surgery on his right knee to address a troublesome injury issue.
The 32-year-old has been in great form so far this season, bagging 14 goals and 11 assists in 23 appearances for the Catalan giants.
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Coupled with the lack of quality depth that coach Ernesto Valverde can call upon up front though, it will be a huge blow for Barca after they confirmed on their club site that the Uruguayan stalwart will undergo surgery on Sunday.
No recovery timeline is offered, but with Suarez now expected to be sidelined in the coming weeks at least, it’s a huge setback for Barcelona in their bid to continue to compete on multiple fronts this season.
That said, Sport reported prior to the official announcement that a meeting was held with a specialist on Saturday to determine the best action moving forward, with the view of getting Suarez back fully fit and healthy in time for the latter stages of the season.
In turn, that would suggest that the decision was well thought out and a recovery could be possible for a decisive period in the campaign, but time will tell what solution Valverde comes up with in the meantime as it could involve a role change for the likes of Lionel Messi and Antoine Griezmann.
It’s added by Sport that the knee problem has bothered Suarez for weeks, and so perhaps it is the most sensible decision for all concerned to have the issue addressed properly rather than manage him throughout the season and risk it becoming worse.
Given his influence on the side so far this year though, that will do little to soften the blow of seeing him undergo surgery, as Barcelona will hope that he can return without any complications or setbacks in the coming weeks.