River Plate Plans Thrown Into Doubt By Juan Pablo Carrizo Injury

Juan Pablo Carrizo will require surgery on an injured ankle, which means the goalkeeper will miss the first half of River Plate's season.
River Plate's hopes for the 2011 Clausura have taken a serious hit, with the news that star goalkeeper Juan Pablo Carrizo will miss the first half of the season through injury.

Fox Sports reports that the former Lazio and Zaragoza stopper broke down in training with an ankle injury, and in the coming days will undergo an operation to repair damaged ligaments in the joints.

The procedure will put 'JP' on the sidelines for at least 60 days, meaning that he will be unavailable until the ninth game of the Clausura at the earliest.

With money scarce at the Buenos Aires giants, the onus will thus fall on number two 'keeper Daniel Vega and promising yet untried youngster Leandro Chichizola to fill in for the Argentine international.

Carrizo is widely regarded as one of the most talented goalkeepers currently available to Argentina, and after a difficult time in Italy and Spain he was one of the stars of the season for a Millo side which finished a respectable fourth in the Apertura.

The player himself was philosophical about the blow, and insisted that he trusted understudy Vega to perform admirably.

"It doesn't seem necessary to me to search for another goalkeeper, today opens the door for any of the players we already have. It wouldn't be good to go looking for another, as it wouldn't be trusting those the club has," Carrizo revealed in an interview on Wednesday.

"I told [Vega] that this is his moment to shine, and that he has a responsibility to make the most of it."