José Copete undergoes left knee surgery, Valencia defender faces uncertain lay-off | OneFootball

Valencia defender José Copete has undergone left knee surgery and faces an uncertain lay-off. In the best case, he could feature in the final rounds of LaLiga.

According to Superdeporte, the 26-year-old had a successful procedure on Monday 2 March in Valencia, performed by orthopaedic surgeon Ignacio Muñoz Criado and overseen by club doctor Pedro López. He will remain in hospital in the coming hours for monitoring.

Copete arrived as the marquee summer signing for the back line and had been an undisputed starter, at times the only fit centre-back in Carlos Corberán’s squad. His injury compounds a campaign already affected by season-ending blows to Diakhaby and Foulquier, despite the arrivals of Unai Núñez and Saravia.

He is hopeful of a positive recovery to help in May, when Valencia face Atlético de Madrid, Athletic de Bilbao, Rayo Vallecano, Real Sociedad and FC Barcelona.

Signed from Mallorca for almost 4 million euros, he quickly cemented his place under Corberán. His form has improved steadily and he is regarded as one of the side’s standout performers.

This season he has played 24 matches, three of them in the Copa del Rey, and accumulated 1,910 minutes. He has five yellow cards in LaLiga and one in the Copa, plus 51 recoveries, a 57.14% duel success rate and 85.56% pass accuracy.

Source: Superdeporte