Chilean international Arturo Vidal, 36, injured his right knee on Tuesday during the match against Colombia in qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, and was operated on on Wednesday in Santiago, announced his Brazilian club, Athletico Paranaense .
“After an evaluation (of the injury) by imaging, a meniscal lesion was identified, requiring surgical intervention to unblock the knee,” writes the Curitiba club (south), which Vidal joined last July.
The duration of its unavailability is not specified. But it is likely that he will miss the end of the Brazilian championship, which ends in December.
Chile and Colombia drew 0-0 on Tuesday in Santiago during the second day of Amsud zone qualifying for the 2026 World Cup, the final phase of which will take place in the United States, Canada and Mexico.
Starting at kick-off, Vidal left the field on a stretcher in the 73rd minute after collapsing in pain, then was taken to hospital by ambulance.
“I have stood up 1,000 times in my life and today will be no exception, with the support of my loved ones and all of you,” Vidal wrote on his Instagram account from the hospital where he was operated on.
“Sooner or later I will be where I love to be the most, on a football field having fun like I have done throughout my career… Thank you and see you soon,” a- he continued.
Arriving in Europe in 2007, Arturo Vidal successively wore the colors of Bayer Leverkusen, Juventus, Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona and Inter Milan, before joining the Brazilian championship.