OFFICIALLY OFFICIAL: Matthijs de Ligt has shoulder surgery, will miss three months

On his 21st birthday, Matthijs de Ligt went under the knife.

The hope is that this surgery, one that has been a foregone conclusion for months now, will mean that he doesn’t have to spend another birthday getting his shoulder repaired and that the fear of him separating it is gone. Well, at least for the immediate future.

Juventus’ big signing a summer ago has officially undergone surgery on his right should to repair an injury that has been a persistent issue ever since a game against Atalanta in November. Juve announced de Ligt’s surgery in a statement on the club’s website on Wednesday, with the added piece of information: the big Dutchman will be out until November as he recovers from the procedure.

The complete statement is as follows:

This morning, Matthijs de Ligt underwent stabilisation surgery on his right shoulder, at the UPMC Salvator Mundi clinic in Rome. The operation, performed by Dr. Volker Musahl, assisted by doctors, Bryson Lesniak and Fabrizio Margheritini and in the presence of Juventus’ Head of Medical Department, Luca Stefanini, was a complete success.

The estimated recovery time is approximately three months.

This operation has been a long time coming for de Ligt, who was battling the original shoulder injury for months after it happened in Bergamo. And just when it looked like he might be over the issue after such a long layoff during lockdown, reaggravation of the injury right after the restart meant that surgery seemed like the only final destination to make his right shoulder once and good for all.

The hope is now all of that is gone.

Obviously with the schedule being what it is post-lockdown, it means that this surgery will cost de Ligt a good chunk of the 2020-21 season. The good thing is that Merih Demiral is healthy again. The hope is that Giorgio Chiellini can at least play a little bit and not put all of the playing time burden on Demiral and his surgically repaired knee.

Either way, no matter who takes the minutes, we know that de Ligt won’t be available for new manager Andrea Pirlo until November. That’s what we figured, and that was confirmed after de Ligt went under the knife on Wednesday in Milan.

Happy birthday, kid. Get well soon.