Serious injury for Exequiel Palacios: how long will he be sidelined | OneFootball

Once again, an injury puts a halt to Exequiel Palacios's career. As confirmed this morning by Bayer Leverkusen on their official website, the Argentine midfielder suffered a myotendinous issue in his right adductor area and will undergo surgery next week. It is estimated that he will not play for the rest of 2025.

In the debut of Danish coach Kasper Hjulmand following the quick dismissal of Erik ten Hag (who lasted just three matches), the player from Tucumán started as a starter in the match against Eintracht Frankfurt. However, he didn't last even a quarter of an hour on the field: he had to be replaced by the Spaniard Aleix García due to muscle discomfort.

What seemed like it could simply be a tear unfortunately ended up being a tendon detachment in his right adductor area, a similar injury to the one Leandro Paredes suffered in mid-2022, which caused him to miss the Finalissima against Italy. The only solution is surgical intervention, which has been confirmed to take place at the beginning of next week.

According to Bayer Leverkusen's statement, it is estimated that Palacios will be out until early 2026. They expect his recovery to take between three and four months, although this will only be known more precisely once Tucu undergoes surgery and begins the rehabilitation phase.

The precedent of Paredes indicates that the current Boca midfielder suffered a similar injury on April 3, 2022, in a PSG vs. Lorient match. With a preseason in between and the Qatar World Cup as a goal in November, he returned to play on July 31, in the 4-0 victory over Nantes for the Trophée des Champions in France. It was almost four months without official activity.

For Palacios, a similar recovery period would see him return to the field in January of next year, also with the 2026 World Cup in sight (starting on June 11). Step by step, the former River player must first undergo surgery, then face his rehabilitation, and later return with strength to finally dream of his second World Cup appearance.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇪🇸 here.