Villa recovering after successful surgery
Reuters - Monday 19 December 2011, 20:33
Barcelona striker David
Villa had successful surgery on his broken left leg on Monday
and doctors said it would take him four to five months to
recover.
Spain's all-time leading scorer has said he was targeting
returning for a possible Champions League final on May 19, and
being able to help his national team defend their European
Championships title in Poland and Ukraine in June.
"The surgery went fantastically well," Barca doctor Ricard
Pruna told a news conference.
"He has been sending messages to his colleagues and laughing
with his wife. I have never seen someone in such good spirits
after an operation."
Villa broke his left tibia while playing the Club World Cup
semi-finals with Barca in Japan last Thursday, and specialist
Ramon Cugat said the 30-year-old had been suffering beforehand
from a stress fracture.
"Some players can finish their professional careers with a
stress fracture," Cugat said. "Players prefer not to have the
operation so as not to lose four or five months. Normally no one
wants to have preventative surgery.
"Everyone hopes he will be able to play Euro 2012. It's a
little tight for the Champions League final in Munich. If I gave
a date for his return I would probably be wrong. It will be his
leg that decides."
Barcelona won the World Club Cup beating Brazil's Santos 4-0
in Sunday's final, and returned to Spain on Monday afternoon.