More bad news for Sporting! Fotis Ioannidis may need surgery | OneFootball

Fotis Ioannidis may have to undergo surgery on his left knee in the coming weeks. The 26-year-old striker was informed at the start of the month that he is suffering from an injury to the medial collateral ligament, sustained on November 8 in the match against Santa Clara, in the Azores.

Due to persistent pain, the Greek international asked Sporting for permission to be assessed by the medical department of the Greece national team. The decision came after another setback, having felt intense pain before the Portuguese Cup classic against Porto, which kept him out of the squad. A few days later, he was still called up on a conditional basis for the match against Braga, but ultimately did not even make the bench.

The assessment carried out by the Greek doctors confirmed the ligament injury. A recovery period of between four and six weeks was indicated, followed by a new evaluation. If there is no improvement, surgery will be considered, with a decision expected by mid-April.

Signed from Panathinaikos for 22 million euros, plus 3 million in performance-related bonuses, Fotis Ioannidis is going through a difficult period at Alvalade, frustrated at being unable to help the team due to a physical problem that has dragged on for almost five months.

The striker started the season with the Greek club and made his debut for Sporting on September 13, against Famalicão. On November 8, against Santa Clara, he came on at half-time and delivered a good performance, but finished the match with pain in his left knee. He returned to Lisbon on crutches, and the ligament injury was confirmed.

After four weeks of conservative treatment, he returned in the derby against Benfica, but regular use in December did not prevent another relapse. On January 6, in the Allianz Cup semi-final against V. Guimarães in Leiria, he went off after 24 minutes in severe pain. Another spell out followed until his return on February 21, in Moreira de Cónegos, where he played only 13 minutes before once again being handed over to the Performance Unit. The possibility of surgery remains on the table.

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