Park Ji-sung Undergoes Knee Surgery
By Kang Seung-woo
Staff Reporter
South Korean midfielder Park Ji-sung of Manchester United in the English Premier League is done for the season after undergoing surgery on his troublesome right knee in the United States.
According to the Web site of the football club on Saturday, ``Park Ji-sung has had a complicated cartilage operation that required an expert in the field.
``He will be out for the rest of the season and we will assess the situation in August."
Park, 25, who stands 1.77 meters tall and weighs 73 kilograms, hurt his knee in a Premiership match against Blackburn Rovers on March 31, where he scored his fifth goal of the season and set up Norwegian Ole Gunnar Solskjaer's goal.
Park underwnt an operation by world-renowned knee specialist Dr. Richard Steadman in Colorado, the United States.
Michael Owen of Newcastle United and Ruud van Nistelrooy of Real Madrid were also patients of Steadman.
United manager Sir Alex Ferguson said, ``We either had to operate or let nature take its course. Because there was no clear reason for the injury, we knew it was bad enough for us to be concerned, which is why he has gone to America. Unfortunately, it puts an end to his season."
Due to the operation, the first South Korean premier leaguer will not be available for the South Korean national football squad during the Asian Cup this July.
Park has scored five goals and has two assists.
Meanwhile, Park was selected as the most popular South Korean sports star in a survey conducted by the Korean Broadcasting System. Among 1,000 respondents, 281 people picked Park as their favorite.
Baseball player Lee Seung-yeop of the Yomiuri Giants came in second with 81 votes while swimmer Park Tae-hwan and figure skating star Kim Yu-na took third and fourth, respectively.