After tearing his ACL in the Portland Timbers' final game of the 2014 season, Diego Valeri has undergone surgery at the Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center. According to the team, the surgery was successful.
The estimate that Valeri will be out for approximately five months remains the same. Last season, Rodney Wallace was estimated to need five to seven months to make his return after suffering a similar, but slighly worse, injury and was back on the field with Arizona United in six months and with the Timbers in seven.
The five month time-frame would put Valeri back with the Timbers early in the season, potentially in April.
Dr. Richard Edelson, who operated on Valeri, has seen a number of Timbers players over the last four years including Wallace, Bright Dike, Mikael Silvestre, and Brent Richards.
The surgery means that, for the second straight year, Valeri will spend his offseason rehabbing from surgery with the Timbers training staff.
The Timbers' press release:
TIMBERS MIDFIELDER DIEGO VALERI UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL SURGERY
PORTLAND, Ore. – Portland Timbers midfielder Diego Valeri underwent successful surgery to repair a torn left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL), it was announced today. Timbers chief medical officer Dr. Richard Edelson performed the procedure Monday evening at the Oregon Outpatient Surgery Center in Tigard, Ore.
Valeri will begin rehabilitation immediately with Timbers sports medicine staff at Providence Park and at the Providence Sports Care Center. He is expected to miss at least five months.
In his second season with the Timbers, Valeri, 28, played in 33 games (32 starts), establishing Timbers MLS-club single-season record marks with 11 goals and 14 assists, including three multi-assist performances. A contender for MLS Most Valuable Player, Valeri was named a 2014 MLS All-Star and delivered the game-winning assist in a 2-1 victory over FC Bayern Munich on Aug. 6 at Providence Park. Valeri was a four-time selection to the MLSsoccer.com Team of the Week in 2014 and earned NASR MLS Player of the Week honors in Week 31 following a brace in a 3-0 win against the San Jose Earthquakes on Oct. 8.