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We'll say this much for Roma and their penchant for catastrophic leg injuries: when it comes to surgical corrections, they don't waste time. A mere two days after rupturing the Achilles tendon in his left leg in Italy's Euro 2020 quarterfinal against Belgium, Leonardo Spinazzola is set to fly out to Finland to repair the damaged tendon; a procedure that is expected to sideline the 28-year-old full-back for approximately five to six months.
According to multiple reports, Spinazzola will travel to Finland with members of Roma's medical team, while renowned orthopedic surgeon Professor Sakari Orava will perform the operation at the NEO Hospital in Turku on Monday. Professor Orava, coincidentally enough, has prior experience operating on injured Roma players after correct a right adductor issue for Bryan Cristante in 2019.
Prior to departing for Finland, Spinazzola took to Instagram to express his optimism and desire to return to the pitch as soon as possible:
While that's a heartwarming photo, I can't help but think that bouncing a toddler on your injured leg is a bad idea! Nevertheless, if the operation goes off without a hitch, Spinazzola is looking at a minimum recovery period of five to six months, which was the approximate recovery timeline for Axel Witsel, who suffered a similar injury in January before returning to the pitch last month.
No matter the timeline, it seems like he's is in the best possible hands under the circumstances, so let's all wish for a speedy recovery for Spinazzola.