Thaisa is expected to be back in action towards the end of 2015
Rio de Janeiro, Brazil, June 2, 2015 – Brazil middle-blocker Thaisa Menezes is set to miss the next four months of action after agreeing to undergo surgery to repair partial tendon tears in her knees.
Thaisa has been a mainstay of the Brazil team that won Olympic gold at Beijing 2008 and London 2012 and only last year she helped Brazil to a record 10th FIVB Volleyball World Grand Prix title. However, she has complained of problems with her knees for the past two years and will now go under the knife sometime between June 15 and 19.
“I have suffered knee pain for the past two seasons,” Thaisa said. “It has been a daily struggle with lots of physiotherapy to ensure I could play, though I have been forced to miss matches for my club Osasco and the national team.
“The doctors conducted some tests and discovered partial tears, which cause pain and swelling and limits how I play.”
Thaisa is expected to return to the court towards the end of the 2015 season and as such is will miss both the World Grand Prix and the FIVB Volleyball Women’s World Cup, which takes place in Tokyo from August 22-September 6.
However, the intention is for her to return in the opening weeks of the 2015-16 Brazilian Superliga season and then be up to full fitness when Brazil defends their gold medal in front of their home crowds at the Rio de Janeiro 2016 Olympic Games.
“Surgery will be performed to solve a problem in the patellar tendon in both knees, which have gone on for too long, so we decided it was time to perform this procedure,” Osasco’s head of medicine Thiago Ferreira said.
“She will start physical therapy after surgery and the forecast is to return to training between September and October.”