Yazdani undergoes second surgery on injured shoulder
Iranian wrestling sensation Hassan Yazdani, a winner of national-high 10 world and Olympic medals, underwent a second surgery on his right shoulder in the French city of Nice on Tuesday.
“Yazdani’s surgical operation was a seven-hour procedure, with his shoulder requiring treatment in three different areas,” wrote the official website of the Iranian Wrestling Federation.
The exact timeline for Yazdani’s full recovery is yet to be confirmed by the sport’s national governing body, though Dr. Sohrab Kayhani, the head of the federation’s medical team, said in late August that the 29-year-old wrestler would be expected to be out of action for “up to 18 months.”
Tuesday’s operation was a second in the same area for Yazdani in less than 12 months.
Having been sidelined for 10 months, Yazdani made his long-awaited return in June’s Ranking Series event in Budapest, where his dominant performance convinced the coaching staff of the national team to pick him for the freestyle 86kg contests in the Paris Olympics.
Keen to win a second Olympic gold and overtake taekwondo legend Hadi Saei as the most-decorated Iranian in the history of the Games, Yazdani showed no signs of the shoulder problem on his way to the final in the French capital.
The injury, however, flared up again in the showdown against Bulgarian Magomed Ramazanov, as the Iranian struggled from the get-go, calling for treatment on several occasions throughout the six minutes of action.
He still managed to see out the contest but the 7-1 loss meant he had to settle for a second successive Olympic silver, following his gold-winning campaign in Rio 2016, which saw him emulate legendary Gholamreza Takhti as the most successful Iranian in Olympic wrestling.
Asked if it was a wise decision to take him to the Games in the first place, Dr. Kayhani said: “His surgeon had given him to the go-ahead, while his situation had been fully assessed in Budapest to make sure he wouldn’t have any problem in Paris.”
“I’m sure he will be fit and ready to compete again in the World Championships in two years,” added Dr. Kayhani.