LUIS SUAREZ faces a race to be fit for the World Cup finals in Brazil after it was revealed the striker requires surgery following a knee injury.

The Liverpool forward went under the knife yesterday morning after an MRI revealed a meniscus injury in his knee, suffered in training with the national team and according to reports, the Uruguayan national team medical staff saw no other alternative than to send Suarez for an operation, even though the World Cup gets under way in three weeks’ time.
Recovery time tends to vary from player to player, but typically varies from two to six weeks, which could put the Uruguayan’s World Cup participation in doubt.
The Uruguay national team are confident that their talisman will be fit to play a part in the tournament, but bookies responded by lengthening their odds of escaping from a tough group stage – which includes England, Italy and Costa Rica – to 1/2.
Uruguay play Costa Rica on June 14, England five days later on the 19, then face a potentially crucial final group stage match against Italy on June 24.
It seems that even if Suarez recovers in time, he will certainly be short of match fitness.
That leaves Uruguay in trouble since their other top striker, Edinson Cavani, has suffered a severe drop-off in form since going through a messy divorce in January.
A positive prognosis was also put forward by the player’s mother, who was quoted as saying that Suarez’s injury “wasn’t as serious as we thought”.
Suarez netted 31 league goals for Premier League runners-up Liverpool this season and was expected to be one of the stars in Brazil, though Uruguay’s chances of progressing out of a group that includes England, Italy and Costa Rica will take a significant hit if he is unable to return to full fitness.
Ben Dinnery, a trained physio and expert for Physioroom.com, said: “If the reports are true and his MRI results did in fact reveal a minor meniscus tear then it’s likely that he will have an operation known as a partial meniscectomy which will remove the torn cartilage.
“This procedure is particularly effective for small tears which affect the mechanical function of the knee; straightening, clicking or locking and the prognosis is good in both the short and long-term.
“Typically patients can expect a return to normal activity within one month although strenuous exercise may be restricted. Without knowing the full extent the injury, it is difficult to predict an accurate timescale for his recovery, but it is more likely he will be targeting the Italy game on June 24 (33 days’ time).
“Chilean international Arturo Vidal underwent an almost identical procedure at the beginning of May and was recently passed ‘fully fit’ by the Juventus and Chile medical team, so at this stage it’s realistic that Suarez will still play a part in the tournament.”

(Eurosport)