Barcelona defender Ronald Araújo will undergo surgery on his right thigh on Wednesday and is at risk of missing the World Cup, the club said in a statement.
Araújo was injured at the start of the friendly between Uruguay and Iran and then Barcelona issued a statement explaining that the defender had suffered an avulsion in the adductor longus tendon.
Araujo, 23, was reluctant to undergo surgery with less than two months to go before the World Cup, but after speaking with Barça coach Xavi Hernández and club doctor Ricardo Pruna on Monday morning, the player has decided to have surgery.
By undergoing surgery, there is less chance of a relapse. However, it will take longer to recover than if Araujo opted for conservative treatment, which would mean four weeks off.
Araújo was warned that this type of treatment could be risky, as happened with Umtiti at the time.
Barca have given no indication as to how long he will be out, but the player is not likely to play for the club again until the end of the year. Among the games Araujo will miss is the league ‘Clásico’ against Real Madrid on October 16.
Araujo will reportedly undergo the surgery on Wednesday in Finland with renowned surgeon Lasse Lempainen, who previously operated on Barcelona’s Ousmane Dembele and Sergi Roberto.
Once the operation is over, Barça and Araujo will know better the recovery time. However, he is likely to be out for 10-12 weeks.
With Barça he would not reappear until December 31 against Espanyol in LaLiga. The option that Xavi has to replace him is to call a central defender from the subsidiary, Pelayo Fernández.
Uruguay begins its World Cup campaign on November 24 against South Korea.
With information from Moisés Llorens and Jordi Blanco