Ribery to undergo knee op
19 Jun 2008 - 09:48:23
Bayern Munich ace Franck Ribery faces around two months on the sidelines after suffering a serious leg injury while playing for France at Euro 2008.
The 25-year-old playmaker collapsed in agony early on in the 2-0 defeat by Italy which ended Les Bleus' hopes in Austria and Switzerland, but fears that he had suffered a broken bone have now been allayed.
Ribery has suffered ligament damage in his lower leg, an injury referred to as a high ankle sprain.
He will undergo surgery to correct the problem and faces a race against time to be fit for the start of the new Bundesliga campaign.
Bayern president, Karl-Heinz Rummenigge, told the club's official website: "We're very sorry about Franck's injury, but we're delighted the initial, much more serious diagnosis turned out not to be the case."
France coach Raymond Domenech had said straight after the loss to the Azzurri: "We think it's a twisted knee, but we're not quite sure yet."