Portuguese judoka Thelma Monteiro underwent surgery on Thursday on the anterior cruciate ligament of her left knee, an intervention that “went well”, according to information published this Friday by the athlete on the social network Instagram.
“Yesterday [quinta-feira], Dr. Pereira de Castro and his team performed my knee surgery, luckily everything went well! It was the first day of a long and difficult journey,” said Thelma Monteiro, expressing readiness for the “emotional ups and downs” of the recovery process.
Thelma Monteiro has undergone surgery for an anterior cruciate ligament injury sustained in her first bout at the European Championships in Montpellier, France, with Judo Club Benfica, indicating he will keep his “purpose of being at the tournament intact.” sixth Olympic Games of his career”, in Paris in 2024.
“It won’t be the way I imagined. But I am also sure that I am surrounded by the best doctors, physiotherapists, club, friends, family, coaches, colleagues. And that, as I have demonstrated countless times, I will not lack resilience,” he noted. Thelma Monteiro in a post published today.
The judoka, who turns 38 in December, has the most extensive track record in the sport in Portugal: an Olympic bronze, four world titles, six European titles and a host of medals, many of them at international level.
After the Tokyo 2020 Games, which will take place in 2021, Thelma Monteiro announced her desire to continue competing and qualify for Paris.
Eight months before the Games, with qualifying in 14 weight classes still ongoing, Thelma Monteiro finds herself in the qualifying spot in the -57kg weight class, ranked 13th excluding the host nation’s athlete and counting only one. judoka vacancies in each country – among 17 determined by ranking.
Losing an international competition where qualifying points count represents a risk for the Portuguese judoka who, if she loses a qualifying position, could be forced to regain points in the final qualifying round.
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Author: Lusa
Source: CM Jornal
I’m Dave Martin, and I’m an experienced journalist working in the news industry. As a part of my work, I write for 24 News Reporters, covering mostly sports-related topics. With more than 5 years of experience as a journalist, I have written numerous articles on various topics to provide accurate information to readers.