Ivan Tcherezov undergoes surgery, will spend two weeks in hospital

Russian biathlete Ivan Tcherezov, seriously injured during the individual race within framework of the Russian summer biathlon championship, underwent a successful surgery yesterday.

The surgery was performed at Moscow Clinical Hospital No. 83 under the guidance of surgeon Sergey Arkhipov.

According to Arkhipov, the surgery went according to the plan, and the athlete will spend the next two weeks in the hospital until his wounds close.

«The operation lasted for 45 minutes and was successful. The have performed the osteosynthesis of the left lateral malleolus. We have opened the lateral malleolus area, aligned everything carefully with the plate and fixed with seven screws. Our goal is to completely restore the normal anatomy of the joint. The average person in this case, perhaps, wouldn’t even need a surgery, but a professional athlete is a special case. Immediately after surgery we tracked the changes at an intersurgical X-ray – I was pleased with what I saw.

«Ivan will stay for another two weeks at the clinic until his wounds close completely and his sutures are removed. We have made him a removable splint. Still, I can’t tell you anything about how long his recovery will take. All needs to be done in stages. First there was surgery, it should be followed by the healing of wounds, and only then we will explore the schedule of his recovey period. But even after he leaves the clinic, Ivan will be constantly monitored by us. I can say that he will have individual recovery process, which depends strongly on the distinctive characteristics of both Ivan and biathlon in general», Arkhipov said according to the official website of the Russian Biathletes’ Union.