Surgery Saved Park’s Career: Father
By Kim Tong-hyung
Staff Reporter
Manchester United midfielder Park Ji-sung will be on crutches until August following an operation to repair a damaged knee ligament, his father told reporters Tuesday.
Park suffered the season-ending injury in a match against Blackburn Rovers on March 31, which forced him to miss the end of United's Premiership title bid.
Park Sung-jong, the footballer's father, said that the operation, performed by U.S. surgeon Richard Steadman, could have saved his son's career.
``The surgery was for the re-growth of cartilage in his right knee. The operation was to prevent the aggravation of his knee condition and allow him to play at an effective level for a longer time,'' the senior Park told reporters as he arrived at Incheon International Airport, after returning from a hospital in Colorado, where his son had the operation on April 28.
Steadman is a knee specialist who has carried out a number of knee operations on top football players in the past, including Alan Shearer and Michael Owen.
``Dr. Steadman said that Park would not have undergone such an operation for such an injury in a normal situation, but it might have ruined his career if the problem was not attended to,'' said the elder Park, adding that his son is expected to be on crutches until August, which rules him out for Korea's Asia Cup campaign in July.
It is the second time Park has undergone surgery on his right knee, which he had surgically repaired in 2003 by having a damaged cartilage plate removed.
Park, who also missed some matches earlier in the season while recovering from a torn Achilles tendon, played in 14 of 38 games, netting five goals and setting up another two, while usually coming off the bench.