Vitali Klitschko was scheduled to defend his WBC title against Hasim Rahman on Nov. 12 in Las Vegas. Unfortunately, the fight was cancelled because Klitschko suffered a knee injury during a recent sparring session. Because of his injury, Klitschko underwent surgery Tuesday in Southern California.
The operation was done by Dr. Neal Elattrache, Director of the Sports Medicine department at the Kerlan-Jobe Clinic, in Inglewood, Calif. Dr. Elattrache treated a new rupture in the torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and damage to the medial meniscus on Klitschko’s right knee.
"The surgery took 1½ hours and was a complete success, but Vitali cannot compete in professional sports for the next six months,” Dr. Elattrache said. “With this severe an injury it would have been absolutely impossible for Vitali to participate in a fight in the near future. The knee was totally unstable and it would have not held up.’’
