Sergio Aguero's knee injury: How serious is it?

1:00pm on Friday 17th July 2020
By Dr Rajpal Brar

Manchester City striker Sergio Kun Aguero was substituted on 22 June versus Burnley with a left knee meniscus injury, one that manager Pep Guardiola stated had been bothering Kun for the last month.

He underwent surgery a few days later under the care of Dr. Ramon Cugat in Barcelona, Pep’s orthopedic specialist of choice. The major question for player and team now becomes: can he make it back for the Champions League in August?

The injury

The menisci are dual crescent-shaped pieces of cartilage that sit between the femur (thigh bone) and tibia (shin bone) within the knee joint to absorb force, distribute load and reduce friction.

The menisci can develop tears or lesions over time due to excessive wear and/or from acute contact, such as twisting or getting hit by another player.

The operation

Based on the reports that City haven’t ruled out Aguero for the Champions League, it’s very likely he underwent a partial meniscectomy in which the damaged piece of tissue is removed via arthroscopic surgery using tiny instruments inserted through portals in the knee.

If that procedure involved the medial meniscus, the return timeline averages about six weeks whereas if it involved the lateral meniscus, the timeline averages eight weeks.

Date of return

From multiple reports and social media posts from his close friends, it sounds like the timeline is 5-6 weeks (indicating a partial medial menisctecomy). If true, that would have Sergio potentially back right in time for City’s second leg vs Real Madrid on 7 or 8 August.

However, whether Pep would choose to pick him for that intense & important of a match coming straight off injury and having only played limited minutes in the past six months due to the COVID-19 delay and now injury rehab, is a different story.