UPDATED: Emre Can undergoes thyroid surgery in Germany

When we first got word that Emre Can was undergoing more exams due to a thyroid nodule condition, there were basically two easy-to-figure-out options out there as to what the next step might be.

1. Surgery.
2. No surgery.

It looks like Can has chosen to go with what’s behind Door No. 1.

UPDATE: Juventus announced on their official website that Can has indeed undergone thyroid surgery in Germany on Monday afternoon. The club state is as follows:

Following the initial examinations carried out at J | Medical which showed the presence of a thyroid nodule, Emre Can has recently undergone further specialist medical examinations in Germany, which confirmed the initial diagnosis.

The club therefore reached the joint conclusion of proceeding with a surgical solution to the problem.

The operation was carried out today in Frankfurt by Prof. Vorlaender, in the presence of Dr. Claudio Rigo and was a complete success. The prognosis for the resumption of physical activity will be better assessed in the coming days.

Earlier in the day, La Gazzetta dello Sport reported Can was set to undergo thyroid surgery in Frankfurt, going with the option that only seemed inevitable knowing that this is a rather important health decision rather than something like a pulled muscle or muscle fatigue.

Juventus are feeling relatively good about the situation, the Gazzetta says. The time that Can will likely miss, according to the newspaper, will be around one month — which sounds like a good amount of time, but remember that there is yet another international break waiting for us in a couple of weeks. So if the timetable for Can’s return is on point, then the German midfielder could very well be close to returning to action when the post-international break slate games starts on Saturday, Nov. 24, when Juventus faces SPAL in Turin.

And lord knows the Juventus midfield will be eagerly anticipating Can getting back to full health come next month.

Can’s absence and Sami Khedira’s injury spell on the sideline has absolutely zapped any kind of depth that Max Allegri had at his disposal at the beginning of the season. It has been Miralem Pjanic, Blaise Matuidi and Rodrigo Bentancur for the last two weeks — and that’s it. The trio started to show signs of fatigue during Saturday’s comeback win over Empoli, one where Allegri decided to go with a three-man midfield despite concerns that his only three healthy midfielders might be getting taxed.

As much as Bentancur has benefited from the dramatic uptick in playing time, it could very well have been Can who did before his thyroid issue was discovered. Now, though, the only thing on the agenda for Emre is getting through his surgery and starting the road to recovery.