Giuseppe Rossi Injury: Updates on Fiorentina Star's Knee and Return

Updates from Sunday, June 1

Gabriele Marcotti of ESPN provides an update on Gieuseppe Rossi's World Cup status:

Updates from Thursday, April 10

Fox Sports has the latest on Giuseppe Rossi's status:

Updates from Thursday, Feb. 13

Yahoo Sports has the latest on Rossi's status:

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Rossi, currently rehabilitating in the USA, witnessed his teammates reach the Coppa Italia final with a 2-0 win over Udinese on Tuesday, and was touched by Fiorentina president Andrea Della Valle dedicating the cup progress to him.

"I have been told of the dedication from Della Valle. It brings me so much pleasure," Rossi, 27, told Firenzeviola.it.

"I was thrilled to see the semifinal on television. I spoke with some of the directors on this extraordinary achievement.

"And when I return, which I hope will be as soon as possible, I want to repay all that confidence that Fiorentina has had in me. With patience, hard work and dedication I will return to play.

"You will see Giuseppe Rossi come May on the field in the final at the Stadio Olimpico." 

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Updates from Wednesday, Jan. 29

Giuseppe Rossi's World Cup hopes have been boosted after an update on his knee was provided by Fiorentina's official website.

Ben Gladwell of ESPN FC provides the translation:

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The player's knee is showing a good level of stability following his recent injury. The striker will proceed with his programme of conservative therapy aimed at facilitating neuromotor recovery over the next two months, then undergo further tests before continuing his rehabilitation on the field.

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Updates From Saturday, Jan. 11:

According to a report from Fox Soccer, Rossi's injury is worse than previously thought:

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Fiorentina forward Giuseppe Rossi's injury is worse than expected after doctors discovered further damage to his right anterior cruciate ligament.

It was thought Rossi could return to action in 6-7 weeks after a medial collateral ligament injury but on Saturday Fiorentina said further tests have discovered ''a stress to the anterior cruciate ligament previously operated on.''

Rossi limped off in tears during Sunday's 1-0 win over Livorno following a hard tackle from Leandro Rinaudo.

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---End of Update---

Updates from Monday, Jan. 6

Fiorentina have released an official statement (h/t Ben Gladwell of ESPN FC) regarding the fitness of Giuseppi Rossi, following the knee injury picked up during their win over Liverno.

They refused to put a timeframe on his return, but said enough to confirm the Italian will likely miss a significant chunk of the season:

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For the correct evaluation of the entity and prognosis of the injury, in the next few days Giuseppe Rossi will visit specialist professor Richard Steadman, the same surgeon that carried out the second operation of his cruciate ligament in his right knee.

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Gladwell reported further:

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Initial reports said the Italy international forward had suffered a badly sprained knee, before a club statement confirmed he has suffered a sprain in his right knee -- the joint in which he has had two operations on to reconstruct cruciate ligaments -- after undergoing tests on Monday.

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Rossi is reportedly facing a three-month spell on the sidelines, according to BeIN Sports italian correspondent, Tancredi Palmeri:

Football Italia's Staff translated Rossi's agent Federico Pastorello's Twitter statement regarding his client's injury status:

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“It looks like a sprain with damage to the collateral ligament. We really got away with this one,” wrote Federico Pastorello on Twitter.

“In six or seven weeks he could be back on the pitch.”

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---Original Text---

Giuseppe Rossi needed to be helped off the pitch during Fiorentina's 1-0 win over Livorno on Jan. 5. Unfortunately, the injury appears to be to his troublesome knees.    

Football Italia and Eurosport.com EN tweeted these updates on Rossi's situation:

This is terrible news for Serie A's top scorer.

Rossi is no stranger to knee issues, which he first began to struggle with while playing for Villarreal in 2011. That began a two-year stretch for Rossi where he was able to play very little soccer and underwent surgery three times. 

On Jan. 5, Rossi appeared to be hurt after a challenge from Leandro Rinaudo. An understandably upset Patron Andrea Della Valle had this to say, via Football Italia, following the match: 

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We are very worried and don’t even want to talk about the game. Rinaudo didn’t even apologise and even argued with the referee in an undignified manner. I’d want to say so many things to Rinaudo right now. He should look at the replays and reflect on his behaviour.

We await the test results tomorrow, but the situation does not look good.

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Any substantial injury to Rossi would be a big blow to fourth-place Fiorentina.

In just 18 Serie A games this season, Rossi has netted 14 of Fiorentina's 34 goals.