Grim prognosis for Andersson
Thursday, August 11, 2005
Article summary
Malmö FF's veteran defender Patrik Andersson faces an uncertain future after sustaining a serious knee injury.
Article body
Nasty twist
The veteran, capped 96 times by Sweden, is undergoing surgery today after falling awkwardly and twisting his left knee in the 88th minute of Malmö's 1-0 home defeat by Swiss side FC Thun in the UEFA Champions League third qualifying round. Recovery time is estimated at seven months.
Serious injury
"I knew straight away when I fell that it was serious," said the former Blackburn Rovers FC, VfL Borussia Mönchengladbach, FC Bayern München and FC Barcelona centre-back, who will get married and turn 34 in a week's time. "The pain that I felt made me realise it was a major injury."
Unstable knee
Malmö doctor Håkan Lindberg confirmed the gravity of the situation, saying: "His knee is very unstable. We've concluded that he has torn the ligaments inside his knee, but in the worst-case scenario, the cruciate ligaments in the left knee are torn."
Game over?
Andersson endured his share of injuries during a two-year spell with Barcelona and last season, his first back at Malmö where he started his career, was also interrupted by a persistent fitness problem. He fought back to recover from that ailment, but this time appears to have sustained a much more troublesome injury.
