Real Betis have been dealt a brutal blow to their ambitions this season as star striker Isco Alarcon is set to miss even longer. The veteran playmaker had hoped to return after the international break, but his recovery did not go as planned.
According to Marca, Isco must undergo a second surgery to his calf problem, after weeks without improvement. Doctors detected a lack of consolidation of the area around the bone and a lack of bone connections, after he fractured his fibula in May.
It was explained by the Chief Medical Officer of Betis, Jose Manuel Alvarez, that normally the injury can take up to six months to heal in normal people, but a much shorter recovery time is expected in athletes. Los Verdiblancos had a choice between waiting the full six months to see if it would heal on its own, or try the surgery again, after weeks without much change.
Isco will recover for 6-8 weeks before rehabilitating the area, but no recovery time is given. It seems likely that any football won't happen before December, though, and it may take much longer.
