Zidane to Have Surgery on Knee
Copyright � 1999 Nando Media
Copyright � 1999 Agence France-Presse
STRASBOURG, France (May 11, 1999 12:35 p.m. EDT http://www.sportserver.com)- France and Juventus midfielder Zinedine Zidane will undergo a knee operation on Wednesday and does not expect to be back in action until August.
"The season is finished for me. I don't want to take any risks," the Juventus playmaker told a news conference in Strasbourg where he is to undergo surgery at the university hospital.
He will miss the last two matches of the Serie A season and France's Euro 2000 qualifiers against Russia and Andorra in June.
Zidane, FIFA's world player of the year, has been suffering from the problem with his right knee since March and was unable to represent his country against Ukraine and Armenia.
"I'll have a few days in hospital and then some 20 days' recovery," said Zidane. He said he hoped to resume training with Juventus in August.
The operation will be conducted by specialist Jean-Henri Jaeger, who treated Zidane when he was an apprentice at Cannes in the early 1990s.
