French swimmer Mehdy Metella has successfully undergone shoulder surgery, per the 27-year-old’s Instagram account.
As we reported late last month, the national record holder broke the news via social media that he would no longer be able to pursue his 2020 Olympic Games dream, as he instead would need to address a nagging shoulder injury with surgery.
In December, Metella stated, “For several weeks now we have everything in place to be ready for the beginning of the year, we have followed all the protocols given by the doctors and, unfortunately, it was not enough. I will have to undergo shoulder surgery.
Per his Instagram post today, January 7th, Metella succinctly said, “fin de l’operation”, appearing to be sitting up in his hospital bed. French media reports that the star will now be facing approximately 4-6 months of rehabilitation.
Metella is a 2016 Olympian, winning silver as a member of his nation’s 4x100m freestyle relay. His 48.08 lead-off split combined with teammates Fabien Gilot, Florent Manaudou, and Jeremy Stravius to stand on the podium in Rio only behind the United States.
Metella followed up with an individual bronze medal in the 100m free at the 2017 World Championships in Budapest, before once again gaining hardware in the form of bronze in the mixed 4x100m free relay at last year’s World Championships in Gwangju, Korea.
The sprinter broke the French national record in the long course 100m butterfly in April of 2019, setting the new mark at 50.85. That rendered Metella as the 15th fastest performer all-time entering the Olympic year.
He broke the French record last year, not this year.
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