Botafogo’s Kaio Pantaleão has knee surgery, focused on recovery | OneFootball

Botafogo defender Kaio Pantaleão underwent surgery on Wednesday afternoon to repair a serious ligament injury in his left knee. The procedure was successful, and the player celebrated the success of the operation with a post on his social media.

“Today marks a new phase. With patience, focus, and faith, I remain strong in my recovery, believing that each day of effort is one step closer to coming back even stronger. Grateful to everyone who is with me on this journey. The body rests, but the mind keeps fighting,” wrote Kaio Pantaleão.

  See this photo on Instagram   A post shared by Kaio fernando (@_kaiofeernando)

Origin of the injury

Kaio suffered a serious injury to his left knee, which included a rupture of the medial collateral ligament, the anterior cruciate ligament, and an injury to the medial meniscus. The incident occurred during Botafogo’s 2-1 victory over Bahia at the beginning of the month, in the 26th round of the Brazilian Championship.

The defender was injured while trying to finish a play in the attacking field. In the move, he ended up colliding with goalkeeper Ronaldo, who fell on his left leg. Kaio remained on the field in severe pain and had to be substituted in the 35th minute of the second half.

Recovery time

The recovery period estimated by Botafogo is nine months. As a result, the athlete will not play again this season and is also expected to miss the first half of 2026.

Kaio Pantaleão’s numbers for Botafogo

Signed in June 2025 from Krasnodar, Russia, the player has made 15 appearances for Glorioso, 14 of them as a starter.

Botafogo’s situation

Botafogo is in fifth place in the Brazilian Championship standings, with 46 points – six points behind Mirassol, the first team in the G-4.

Upcoming Botafogo matches

Botafogo vs Santos (30th round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: October 26 (Sunday), at 4pm (Brasília time) Venue: Nilton Santos Stadium, in Rio de Janeiro (RJ)

Mirassol vs Botafogo (31st round of the Brazilian Championship) Date and time: November 1 (Saturday), at 6pm (Brasília time) Venue: José Maria de Campos Maia Stadium, in Mirassol (SP)

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