Crystal Palace’s Jean-Philippe Mateta requires knee surgery | OneFootball

Not only has Jean-Philippe Mateta’s (28) move to AC Milan fallen through, as per a report from Gianluca Di Marzio, the Frenchman now requires knee surgery, Sacha Tavolieri understands. 

Mateta has made his intention to leave Crystal Palace this month clear. He had looked to be closing in on a move to Nottingham Forest before AC Milan’s intervention, however Italian media reported on Sunday evening that there were doubts about the France international’s fitness, concerns sufficient enough to call the entire move into question.

Di Marzio now understands that, at the last minute, the move has collapsed. A verbal agreement was already in place between the two clubs and the Frenchman was himself keen on the move to the San Siro. But further tests have led the Italian giants to pull out of the deal.

Those tests have revealed something even worse for the France international. He will need knee surgery in order to fully recover and so he is now set to be out of action for between three to four months. He now faces a race to return ahead of the World Cup.

GFFN | Luke Entwistle