Inter midfielder Milan Skriniar underwent back surgery yesterday, and could potentially miss the rest of the season.
The news regarding the surgery was confirmed by the club in an update on their official site, detailing that the Slovakian international defender underwent endoscopic surgery on his lumbar spine to address a back problem which has largely kept him out of action since the end of February of this year.
The exact return date for Skriniar from the back injury has been something of a mystery.
The last time the former Sampdoria defender was able play, was a 10 minute substitute appearance against Porto in the second leg of the round of last 16 in the Champions League last month.
Slovakian national team doctor Zsolt Fegyveres diagnosed the problem as “damage to an inverterbral disc,” whilst the Nerazzurri‘s own club medical staff considered this diagnosis to be “alarmist.”
Meanwhile, last month Skriniar met with medical staff with strong links to Paris Saint-Germain, the club he is expected to join on a free transfer this summer, which reportedly caused Inter annoyance.
The fact that this injury has come amid the contract saga which has seen Skriniar decide to reject Inter’s offer of an extension to instead agree terms with PSG has in fact been a key factor in the background for the entire injury situation.
Whilst that move has looked to be all but a done deal since January, it was reported by French outlet Le Parisien yesterday that PSG would consider making a shock U-turn and pull out of the deal if they do not have confidence about the 28-year-old’s fitness.
According to a report today from Gazzetta.it, the surgery to Skriniar was performed at the Clinique de Sport in Merignac, which whilst not officially affiliated with PSG, is owned by the Ligue 1 club’s official doctor Chirstophe Baudot.
As such, it would be no stretch to infer that the decision to perform the surgery on the former Sampdoria defender has had heavy input from the Parisians, who do not want to sign the player only to find that he is dealing with significant and long-term physical problems.
What this means for Inter, the Gazzetta reports, is that Skriniar could miss “weeks” or even the rest of the season, as there will be no speedy recovery from the endoscopic surgery that the Slovakian underwent.
The timing of all this means that the 28-year-old is a doubt for the rest of the Nerazzurri’s Serie A campaign, where they’re trying to claw back a place in the top four of the league table.
It also means that the defender is a major doubt the two-legged Champions League semifinal against AC Milan, whilst his fitness for the final of the competition in June, should Inter reach that far, would also be up in the air, as would further participation in the Coppa Italia.
