Umar Sadiq: Real Sociedad and Nigeria forward undergoes successful anterior cruciate ligament surgery

La Liga side Real Sociedad have confirmed Umar Sadiq had a successful surgery on his anterior cruciate ligament.

WHAT HAPPENED? The Nigeria international went under the knife following an injury suffered against Getafe during a league match. The striker was substituted in the first half and it was feared that he could miss the rest of the 2022-23 season.

WHAT THEY SAID: A statement from the Spanish top-flight Twitter handle read: “Sadiq underwent surgery this morning. The operation was successfully carried out with no issues.

“He will remain in the hospital until Friday or Saturday, depending on his evolution.”

With this successful surgery, he has a fighting chance of returning earlier than expected.

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Sadiq – who has automatically been ruled out of the La Liga Golden Boot race – will miss many of Real Sociedad’s matches in La Liga and the Uefa Europa League. Talking about international football, he will miss Nigeria’s international friendlies against Algeria and Portugal.

AND WHAT’S MORE: Morocco and Cote d’Ivoire prospect Mohamed-Ali Cho could be given a chance to prove his worth. The former Angers player has played in five Spanish elite division matches so far – with two of them in the starting XI.