New Real Madrid starlet Arda Guler was the name on everybody’s lips during preseason in Spain, yet he has been laid low by a knee injury.
The 18-year-old was sent home from their preseason tour of the US, after an injury to his meniscus was discovered in his knee. Back in the Spanish capital it was rumoured that the knee injury may cause him to have surgery, which would have kept him out of action for 3-5 months.
However Los Blancos, keen to avoid surgery, are following a conservative treatment for Guler, and the prognosis has been positive. An initial two months was forecast, but Carlo Ancelotti has reduced that yet further, as he told Diario AS.
“Talking about medical issues is complicated. It is not a serious problem. We were doubting whether to do a conservative treatment or surgery. In the worst case, it is a month.”
He went on to remark that Guler seems like an ‘extra-terrestrial’ given his age.
Sport have now referenced information revealed by Turkish outlet Milliyet that both Fenerbahce and Guler were aware of his knee problems before he made his move, which could be worth around €35m in commissions and fees.
They say that Fenerbahce and Coach Jorge Jesus were advised in March that the only way to solve the injury for good was surgery, but they too opted for a conservative treatment. In light of their needs in the final stages of the season, they decided to discount surgery, and Guler continued to play for both Turkey and Fenerbahce. ‘I can play at 60 percent of my ability’, ‘sometimes it hurts’ he reportedly told the Turkish medical staff ahead of their matches in March.
This is not to say Guler or Fenerbahce were necessarily dishonest – Real Madrid ran their own medicals, and all parties may have concluded that he was fully recovered at that point.
Either, Real Madrid are unlikely to have changed their mind on a deal, given the prodigious talent Guler possesses. Perhaps they treat the matter differently though, if they feel it is a recurring problem.
Its nothing permanent. He will be back stronger.