Arturo Vidal to undergo surgery on knee

As reported on FCBayern.com, Jupp Heynckes confirmed that Arturo Vidal will undergo surgery and miss at least the next three fixtures. With a rejuvenated and dangerous Bayer Leverkusen side looming in the DFB Pokal semifinals tomorrow, Bayern Munich have its first test in how to plan without having the the fiery Chilean available for midfield duty. Heynckes explained that Vidal simply, “slipped and went down.”

Heynckes went on to further detail the next steps for repair and recovery:

“I’ve just spoken to Dr. Müller-Wohlfahrt on the phone. He’s had an MRI scan. Arturo has a loose body in his knee. That’s preventing him stretching. He’s already on his way to Augsburg [to see Dr. Ulrich Boenisch, Ed.]. He needs keyhole (arthroscopic) surgery on his knee. Arturo will definitely be out of action for a while.”

As indicated above, the injury was not attributed to any contact, but was the result of an unfortunate slip. As Heynckes stated to ESPN , the toughness of Vidal is not in question and this was just a random event that went awry.

“We can’t say how long he will be out for but he is motivated to return as soon as possible. Arturo especially would have liked to play against Real. He’s a born fighter and one of those players who can grit his teeth.”

In addition to the DFB Pokal match, Vidal is expected to miss at least the Hannover game on Saturday and the Champions League semifinal against Real Madrid on April 25th. As further news is released, we will provide additional details regarding the injury and upcoming surgery.