Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, February 4, 2012 –
Brazilian volleyball legend and captain Giba will be out of
action for up to three months as the wing spiker will undergo surgery on
February 13 on his lower left leg. The surgery is deemed necessary in
order for him to be fit enough to play at the London Olympic Games in
July.
Giba, who was part of the
Brazilian gold medal winning team at Athens, and captained Brazil when
the world No. 1 team lost to USA in the final in
2008, experienced problems with his tibia for the first time in
September during the South American Championship and although he helped
Brazil qualify for the 2012 Olympic Games when the world champions
finished third at the 2011 World Cup in Japan in December, he has had
limited playing time in the Superliga, Brazil’s national championship.
“I’m not happy about being
away from the court,” Giba, 35, said. “I wondered if I could help (my
club) Cimed/SKY, but I have to think about my career and, as this is an
Olympic season, the best thing to do was to accept the surgery.”
Brazilian team doctor Ney
Pecegueiro, who will be in charge of the procedure, believes that three
months will be enough for Giba, who also led Brazil to the FIVB World
Championship title in 2010, to be back on court.
“Talking in simple terms,
Giba’s tibia fracture was not healing,” he explained. “In the surgery,
we will attach a titanium rod to his bone to keep it immobilized. This
way, he will be able to resume practice in two or three months and we
believe he will be fully healed for the Olympics.”
Brazilian coach Bernardinho hopes to have his captain in good shape for the most important tournament of the year.
“We need to understand the
importance of this surgery as he needs some time to recover prior to the
Olympics,” Bernardinho said. “Giba is one of our key players and we are
confident he will be ready to play in London.”
Source : http://www.fivb.org/viewPressRelease.asp?No=33527&Language=en
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