TEHRAN – Iranian wrestler Alireza Karimi Machiani underwent successful knee surgery on Sunday.

Karimi underwent surgery in Tehran’s Arman Hospital.

“He tore his anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) on his left knee and it meant he had to undergo surgery. Fortunately, the operation was successful. An ACL surgery can take six months to recover,” orthopedist Dr. Sohrab Keyhani said.  

Karimi, who won a gold medal in the 2018 Asian Games and a silver at the 2019 World Wrestling Championships in Nur-Sultan, Kazakhstan, suffered a knee injury in the 2019 World Wrestling Clubs Cup held in Bojnurd, Iran in December.

Karimi, 97kg, was supposed to miss the Olympic Games but he can secure his berth after the Games were postponed due to coronavirus outbreak.