Porto pair ruled out after surgery
Monday, March 22, 2010
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Having already lost Mariano González to a serious injury, FC Porto must also play the rest of the season without Silvestre Varela as the winger faces up to missing out on the FIFA World Cup.
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Silvestre Varela's hopes of featuring in Portugal's FIFA World Cup squad have been ended by an ankle injury, while FC Porto forward Mariano González has also been under the knife.
Winger Varela underwent surgery on Saturday after suffering a serious injury to his left ankle during Porto's final training session before Sunday's 3-0 League Cup final defeat by SL Benfica. The 25-year-old made his Portugal debut in a 2-0 victory against China in March but will not return until the summer.
"These serious injuries are always particularly difficult moments in the life of a player," said Portugal coach Carlos Queiroz. "So I want to send him my best wishes to recover as quickly as possible."
Mariano González, meanwhile, has today had knee surgery having damaged cruciate ligaments during a 2-1 win at A. Académica de Coimbra on 13 March. The 28-year-old, capped 11 times by Argentina, will not play again this season.
Porto are third in the Portuguese First Division, eleven points behind leaders Benfica, and out of Europe having lost to Arsenal FC in the UEFA Champions League first knockout round.
