Former Liverpool Star Suffers Devastating Injury Ahead Of FIFA World Cup: Details

Former Liverpool star Gini Wijnaldum has suffered a devastating injury that could keep him on the sidelines for months.

Wijnaldum, who moved on loan at AS Roma from Paris Saint-Germain (PSG), picked up an injury while training Sunday. Subsequently, he underwent medical tests that confirmed the presence of a fracture to the tibia in his right leg, according to an official release from Roma.

The Dutch midfielder tasted much success at Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool, where he won several silverware, including the Premier League and Champions League. However, he decided to move on and joined PSG on a free transfer last summer. However, he struggled to settle down in Paris in his maiden season.

While he was excited about reviving his career in Italy, Wijnaldum is expected to be out of action for a long time now and could miss the FIFA World Cup, which is scheduled to take place in Qatar later this year.

Even though it is still unclear how long Wijnaldum will take to recover, he has decided to undergo surgery this week at Villa Stuart hospital in Rome in order to speed up recovery and return to full fitness in time for the multi-nation event, according to Roma Press.

Wijnaldum was a late substitute against Salernitana last week and came on to play as an attacking midfielder. But he is expected to play a deeper role for Roma. He picked up the injury just one game into the 2022-23 campaign for Roma. Jose Mourinho still has the likes of Bryan Cristante and Lorenzo Pellegrini available for the central midfield roles.

It is a relatively clean fracture, so it should not be very difficult to resolve with surgery. But, if Wijnaldum does go under the knife, he could take at least three months to recover, giving him a slender chance of returning in time for the World Cup in November, according to Football Italia.

Wijnaldum started off his professional career at Dutch club Feyenoord during the 2006-07 season. After spending nearly five seasons at the Rotterdam-based club, he moved to a rival side PSV Eindhoven, where he was a regular for four full seasons before he made his way to the Premier League.

The Dutchman netted 11 goals in 40 competitive games for Newcastle United before Liverpool secured him in the summer of 2016. He spent five campaigns in Merseyside, where he became a vital cog in the Reds side. Wijnaldum made 40+ appearances in each of the seasons at Liverpool and was one of the most dependable guys in Klopp's camp.