Radovanovic's bizarre sternum fracture adds to Zaragoza defender's injury woes
The Serbian centre-back faces another spell on the sidelines with an unusual sternum fracture, as Zaragoza's defensive crisis deepens ahead of crucial Segunda División fixtures.
Real Zaragoza’s luckless Serbian defender Aleksandar Radovanovic has picked up yet another injury, but this time it’s a proper strange one by anyone’s standards.
Unusual injury diagnosis
The centre-back has been diagnosed with a non-displaced, stable sternum fracture – not your typical footballer’s injury and certainly not what the doctor ordered for a player who’s been plagued by fitness problems since pre-season.
According to Zaragoza, the injury saga began during their match against Cádiz, when Radovanovic collided with Adrián. Initial X-rays showed nothing more than a bruised rib, but the plot thickened after subsequent matches against Las Palmas and Racing Santander, where he took several knocks to the same area.
When the pain became acute, further tests revealed the sternum fracture that will now keep him sidelined for several upcoming fixtures. Talk about having no luck – the poor bloke’s been in and out of the treatment room all season!
Defensive reshuffle
This latest setback forces manager Víctor Fernández to reshuffle his defensive pack once again. The gaffer now has three main options to fill the two centre-back positions:
- Tachi, who returns from a one-match suspension
- Saidu, looking to cement his place in the starting XI
- Insua, the experienced defensive option
Transfer implications
Radovanovic’s injury makes the need for defensive reinforcements even more urgent. The club’s brass are already working on bringing in another centre-back during the January window, with Celta Vigo’s Yoel Lago reportedly high on their shopping list.
For Zaragoza fans, this is becoming a right pain in the Hampton (that’s Hampton Wick – sick – for the uninitiated). Just when they thought their defensive woes couldn’t get any worse, they’ve now lost a key player to an injury you’d more likely see in a car crash than on a football pitch.