Betis defender Diego Llorente to undergo surgery, will miss rest of season

Madrid, April 15 (IANS) Betis has suffered a serious setback with the confirmation central defender Diego Llorente needs an operation and will miss the rest of the season.

Llorente was carried off in the first half of Betis' 2-1 defeat to Villarreal last Sunday that leaves the club sixth in La Liga with a lot of work to do to qualify for next season's Champions League as reported by Xinhua.

"Following tests on Diego Llorente, it has been confirmed that our player has an advanced proximal tendon injury in his left hamstring," informs the Betis website, adding that Llorente will "undergo surgery in Finland by Dr. Lempainen and will be accompanied at all times by members of the club's medical team.”

Although the club fails to say how long Llorente will be sidelined, it's impossible for him to return before the end of the season, robbing coach Manuel Pellegrini of a vital player.

Llorente has appeared in 30 of Betis' 31 La Liga matches this campaign and in six games in the UEFA Conference League and played more minutes than anyone else at the club this season.

Betis' next game is in the Conference League on Thursday when it defends a 2-0 quarter-final first leg lead away to Polish side, Jagiellonia Bialystok.

Betis currently sits at sixth place in La Liga standings and will be hoping to move past Athletic Club and Villarreal who sit in fourth and fifth place respectively with seven games to go in the domestic season. If La Liga become the second recipient of the extra UCL spot, after England secured the first, then Betis’ charge for qualification would be boosted.

After the Conference League clash, Betis will travel to Estadi Montilivi to face Girona on April 22.

--IANS

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