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Reports: United’s de Gea set for eye surgery

Comment: 0 January 20th, 2012 by: admin

A number of reports are suggesting that Manchester United’s David de Gea will undergo corrective eye surgery, hopefully to remedy the keeper’s inconsistent performance.

The 21-year old is said to be suffering from long-sightedness and is currently dependent on contact lenses.  As a result, the team’s optometrist has recommended laser surgery to restore the keeper’s eyesight.

De Gea’s erratic performance at this early stage of his career with United has garnered widespread criticism.  According to the Guardian, his performance has so far conceded from six to nine goals in five months.  This has led manager Sir Alex Ferguson to drop him from the starting eleven for the past three matches, and replace him with Anders Lindegaard.

While the connection of his condition to those mistakes is still debatable, experts have pointed out that contact lenses are ineffective in preventing eye strain caused by artificial light.

According to reports United remain hopeful of de Gea’s potential and still expect him to become a great goalkeeper, and prove that he was worth the £18.3 million signing.

The club is reportedly hoping to get de Gea scheduled for the needed surgery by June, giving him the summer break for recuperation.

The keeper has had to contend with glasses for almost all of his life, and was apparently scheduled to receive eye treatment early this year when he was still with Atletico Madrid.  The club’s experts however recommended that he wait at least one year as he would need the proper prescription.

After moving to Manchester United to replace retired veteran Edwin van der Sar, de Gea underwent numerous regular checkups.  However the string of mistakes had Lindegaard come in as keeper after United’s 2-3 loss to the Blackburn Rovers last New Year’s eve.

De Gea’s list of responsibilities as keeper will go beyond Manchester United in the near future.  Reports state that he is set to play in the Olympics with Spain should he miss out on the Euro 2012 match.

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