After the Champions League final, it became known that Tsvetan Sokolov was going to miss the Volleyball Nations League and the World Championships due to knee surgery. The surgery on his patellar tendon in his left knee took place on Monday, June 4. The Bulgarian opposite who plays with Lube Civitanova posted a picture on his Facebook page afterward with the message that the surgery was just a first step and the recovery would be difficult.
First step has been done. Now – the more difficult one – recovery ! 💪🏻
Posted by Tsvetan Sokolov on Monday, June 4, 2018
The operation lasted for about 30 minutes. It was performed by Dr. Pier Paolo Mariani at the Villa Stewart clinic in Rome. The most recent estimates have Sokolov’s recovery being 6 months. In an interview on the televsion program “TV Code” in Bulgaria, Sokolov stated that after 3 to 4 months, “I can start trying to jump, train with the team.”
This obviously does not mean that he will be back in uniform for Bulgaria in the World Championships. Sokolov clarified that after 3 or 4 months, “we talk about 10 jumps a day.” He finished his explanation of his recovery by stating Doctor Mariani, “told me it took about 5 or 6 months to play.”
Sokolov knew that he was facing surgery going onto the final series of the Italian SuperLega and the CEV Champions League Final Four. When he was asked how he was able to play through such an injury, he stated, “Many painkillers, lots of injections and little workouts.” Despite the pain and risk of further damage to his knee, Sokolov was named Best Opposite of the Champions League. He also was the leading scorer of the SuperLega playoffs a rate of 4.98 points per set.
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