Tottenham defender Emerson Royal has undergone successful knee surgery and will fly back to England to start his rehabilitation next week, his father has revealed.
The 24-year-old suffered the injury while playing for Brazil in the final moments of his 90-minute display against Morocco in a friendly on Saturday. The defender, who has been one of Spurs' better players during the second half of this season, was assessed in London before undergoing surgery in Brazil on the meniscus in his left knee.
The right-back will use the next few days to rest before flying back to London on Monday, his father and manager, Emerson Zulu, said on Thursday. The owner of Estrategic Sports added: "The surgery went well, it really was the meniscus. Recovery is usually 3 to 6 weeks. But based on Royal's genetics, I believe he will recover soon.
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"My company has a multidisciplinary team and through the Heráclito Research and Analysis Center we carry out genetic tests on our players in a Spanish laboratory. On Monday he returns to England."
Emerson's injury leaves Spurs short at right wing-back with only January signing Pedro Porro fit and ready to play, with Djed Spence on loan at Rennes and Matt Doherty having left the club for Atletico Madrid in January.
Earlier this week, Porro sent a message of support to his team-mate. Translated from Portuguese, the message Pedro posted on his social media channels to Emerson read: "Good recovery bro, Let's fight for you. @Emerson_Royal22."
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