RB Leipzig playmaker Xavi Simons will likely miss the rest of the calendar year after undergoing surgery on an ankle ligament injury.
The Netherlands international sustained the injury to his left ankle in last week’s Champions League defeat at home to Liverpool and underwent an operation in Munich over the weekend.
The 21-year-old, who has scored three goals and provided two assists in 11 appearances across all competitions for RB Leizpig this season, is expected back in training before the end of the year but the club do not expect him to play again until 2025.
RB Leipzig head coach Marco Rose has said that the club would consider Simons’ long-term future, as well as the team’s short-term needs.
“We are still trying to figure out how to proceed,” Rose said. “It is important that we find a good solution, as he wants to play at the top level for many years to come.”
Rose said on Monday that “being fit to play this calendar year is the big goal” for Simons, who is on a season-long loan deal from Paris Saint-Germain.
RB Leipzig having 11 matches remaining in 2024 and they play St. Pauli in the DFB-Pokal on Tuesday before travelling to Borussia Dortmund in the Bundesliga on Saturday. Rose’s side also have Champions League matches against Celtic, Inter Milan and Aston Villa this year.
RB Leipzig are joint-top of the Bundesliga alongside Bayern Munich and Rose’s team remain unbeaten domestically this season.
(Top image: Rico Brouwer/Soccrates/Getty Images)
