Costa Rican soccer star Bryan Oviedo undergoes successful surgery, recalls grisly leg injury

Costa Rican star midfielder Bryan Oviedo underwent a successful surgery on Monday night to repair a gruesome leg injury, according to his Premier League club Everton.

Oviedo, 23, broke his leg in two places while making a play on the ball against Stevenage during a match Saturday. The fractures to his tibia and fibula put his chances of playing in the World Cup in doubt. Now Oviedo has a several weeks to rehab before the Costa Rica National Team will decide if one of their best players is able enough to make the World Cup roster.

Everton’s head of medical services Danny Donachie told the team’s official site that Oviedo had a clean break in his leg. Doctors placed a rod through Oviedo’s tibia, and the Tico is “in comfortable and stable condition,” Donachie said.

Oviedo described the immediate aftermath of the injury to evertonfc.com. He said he felt a shudder go through his body, and then saw his leg distorted. Once he noticed teammate Kevin Mirallas in tears, Oviedo said he knew “something was seriously wrong.”

“All sorts of thoughts went through my head,” [Oviedo] added. “It wasn’t too uncomfortable at first, but I then felt very strong pain and tried to endure it.

“I thought about everything, my father, the World Cup. The minutes felt like hours.

“It is a real blow to my hopes, and it is painful for me just to look at the images.

“I have tried to stay strong and positive but I don’t want to watch the video of the incident. I don’t think I will ever want to see it.”

Medical experts say the broken leg will need four months to recover, giving Ovideo a chance to be healthy in time for the 2014 World Cup. It begins in Brazil on June 12. 

“”Ever since it happened, I’ve been thinking about the World Cup,” Oviedo told Everton’s site. “I have to remain calm, but in the hands of God, I will be ready for it.