Bad News for Isco: He Needs Another Surgery
Real Betis midfielder Isco Alarcón, who underwent surgery last May for a fracture in his left fibula, will need another operation after the club's medical team detected a lack of consolidation in the fracture callus, the club announced.
The Málaga native, who was injured on May 16 during a LaLiga match against Las Palmas after a blow to his calf, had surgery four days later for a "diaphyseal fracture of the left fibula." After completing the subsequent rehabilitation, he was in the process of getting back into shape to make a comeback, but this "complication" will extend his absence.
Betis reported in a medical statement that the decision to operate again on Isco, a key player in the team coached by Manuel Pellegrini, was made after observing "a lack of consolidation in the fracture callus and the formation of solid bone bridges" in recent control tests.
"Given the risk of incomplete consolidation in the coming months, after evaluation by the club's medical team together with other external specialists with experience in such processes, it has been decided to surgically review the fracture site to attempt to revitalize it," the club explained in the statement, without specifying the date of the new surgery.
"The prognosis is reserved for post-surgical evolution," according to the statement from Betis. However, the head of their medical services, José Manuel Álvarez, stated that once operated, the player will need to be "without impact for 6 to 8 weeks" and then enter the "readaptation period."
In this last phase, Álvarez mentioned in comments provided by Betis, no estimated recovery timeframe is set, although he hopes it will be as short as possible due to the player's characteristics and his eagerness to return to the field.
"We have detected an immature callus at the fracture site, and while in ordinary people we might wait up to six months for consolidation, in athletes we need to expedite this process," said the Betis doctor.
He added that the plan is to "enter the operating room, review the fracture site, and if necessary, remove the material to refresh the site, consider doing a graft and any additional procedures to accelerate the callus, and then reinsert the osteosynthesis material."
"This is the situation we’ve encountered, a complication that can occur, though rarely, and with Isco it has happened. Given the prudent evolution time of three and a half months, we believe we should not wait the full six months to reevaluate, as we might find ourselves in the same situation and prefer to address it aggressively to expedite the process," Álvarez said.
Before this decision was made public, Betis’ Chilean coach had stated after the start of LaLiga that the idea was for Isco, who has been working on his rehabilitation throughout the summer, to fully reintegrate with the rest of the squad during the current international window, so he could be available after the league break.
