Sime Vrsaljko (28 years old) does not lift his head. The Atlético side has been forgetting for a year and a half and bad luck has haunted him since he left on loan to Inter. The club announced today that the Croatian has undergone a surgical intervention consisting of an arthroscopic resection of the scar plica in the left knee. The defense had been scheduled for this intervention to clean the joint. Recovery with physiotherapy will begin immediately and will carry out rehabilitation sessions to return as soon as possible to be available for Simeone. The notice does not specify the time that will be off, although these types of injuries are not very serious and it is estimated that in little more than a month he could start working with the group and in a month and a half I would be ready to play.
The Calvary of Vrsaljko, which came to Atlético in the summer of 2016 from the Italian Sassuolo, started when the rojiblancos sent him on loan to Inter Milan in July 2018. The Croatian had knee problems at the beginning of the season that made him miss some games. However, the turning point occurred in January 2019, when he suffered a tear of the anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee that caused him to miss the rest of the course. For that reason, the 'Nerazzurri' canceled the loan so that the player could be treated with Atlético's doctors. That season he was only able to participate in 13 games, in which he gave two assists in 912 ’.
Last season he started injured and could not debut until January. It was on matchday 21 against Leganés in the Wanda Metropolitano and started. He linked five games in a row and even played the two duels of the Champions League round of 16 against Liverpool. In fact, the second leg, at Anfield (March 11), was the last time he had taken to the pitch in an official match. In May had a knee arthroscopy to remove surgical material from the previous procedure. The goal was return when LaLiga resumed after the stoppage due to the coronavirus. However, the recovery periods were lengthened and his return was set for the final phase of the Champions League in Lisbon (August 13 against Leipzig).
But bad luck kept haunting Vrsaljko and, in the PCR test prior to traveling to the Portuguese capital, he tested positive for coronavirus, which prevented him from traveling with the group, saying goodbye to the season. Total accumulated 482 'in seven games between all competitions and gave an assist. This campaign has not yet been able to debut due to a muscle injury. Last Friday he did his first training with the group, but this week he already worked on the sidelines and today this new operation has come to light.
The low of Vrsaljko represents a major setback for Simeone because this season the croatian is Trippier's replacement on the right-back after Arias left for Bayer Leverkusen in Germany. Therefore, the Argentine coach will have to find an alternative if you want to give English a break, the big favorite being the youth squad Ricard, who already entered the list in the last league game of the rojiblancos, last Saturday against Villarreal at the Wanda Metropolitano, although he did not make his debut.