The surgeon who operated on Lazio midfielder Nicolo Rovella offered an estimated timeline for the player's rehabilitation period.
The 24-year-old made his first start in Serie A since recovering from a long-term groin injury that had kept him out of action for more than three months. Maurizio Sarri gave him the nod in the away fixture against Cagliari on Saturday. But, unfortunately for the Italian, his outing ended with another serious knock.
Rovella fell to the ground following a challenge from Ze Pedro, and his awkward landing caused a fractured collarbone. On Monday, the player underwent surgery in Rome , with Dr Giovanni Di Giacomo overseeing the operation.
In his interview with Il Corriere dello Sport (via La Lazio Siamo Noi ), Di Giacomo revealed that Rovella will likely be out for three months, but he should be able to return to training after almost 60 days.
For us, it's a routine surgery, but in football it's less common. He is highly motivated and eager to recover as quickly as possible, although the necessary biological timelines for this type of injury must naturally be respected.Generally speaking, we're looking at around three months. A return to group training is expected around the second month, while additional time will be needed before he can resume playing and engage in physical duels during matches.
Nicolo Rovella (Photo by Marco Rosi – SS Lazio/Getty Images)
The Lazio midfielder will don a shoulder brace for around 25 days. Afterwards, his condition will be closely monitored by Lazio's physiotherapists, who were praised by Di Giacomo.
They are very experienced professionals and we have already agreed on a specific protocol that includes gym work, pool sessions, and other progressive phases. I've treated many footballers, especially for shoulder dislocations. In terms of incidence, these issues are less common than more classic injuries such as cruciate ligament tears.Football is a sport in which the knee and ankle are the most stressed joints, but as it is also a contact sport, dislocations — and more rarely, collarbone fractures — can occur. It was an unfortunate incident, and unfortunately it happened to Rovella.
For his part, Rovella pledged to work as hard as possible to accelerate his recovery process.
My main focus now is on making the right steps in my rehabilitation. I will work hard to be available again as soon as possible.
