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Dr. Tran Trung Dung, who directly supervised Son's surgery at Vinmec Hospital in Hanoi, said the player's condition is stable. He will stay in the hospital for at least another four weeks for intensive monitoring, after which he can return to his club or training facilities.
"Son has a fractured bone shaft, but his ligaments and knee joints are not affected. If he receives good treatment and recovery, he can return to football with 100% leg strength as before," Dung said.
The doctor said Son's bone fusion surgery on Monday was successful, but the treatment process is only 10% of the way. In the next stages, Son needs a specialized rehabilitation program for athletes. For normal patients, the only need is to walk and exercise well. As for athletes competing at the highest level, a comprehensive solution is needed from surgical therapy, nutrition, and exercise to help patients heal bones, restore mobility, maintain muscle strength and control weight.
"This is not an easy problem," Dung added. According to the doctor, Son's current weight and index are at the peak of a football player. Therefore, the training, recovery and nutrition process needs to be very careful to ensure weight maintenance and avoid weight gain due to sudden reduction in training intensity. In particular, a specialized training and nutrition program are carefully calculated for Son to ensure the bone healing process recovers quickly while still maintaining muscle mass.
By Tuesday afternoon, Son could walk on crutches in his room, and is expected to start a training program on-site in 2-3 days, lasting up to 6-8 hours a day.
"I feel better now, I will be back soon," Son told Deputy Minister of Health Tran Van Thuan who visited him at the hospital on Tuesday.
Son, born in Brazil in 1997 as Rafaelson, became a Vietnamese citizen in September 2024. He was the first naturalized player without Vietnamese origin to be called up to the national team since 2009.
Son played a crucial role in Vietnam's winning the ASEAN Cup, scoring seven goals after four matches, which earned him the top scorer and MVP awards at the tournament.
He was injured in the ASEAN Cup final at Rajamangala Stadium, Thailand on Sunday, when he dribbled and tried to pass into Thailand’s penalty area. Initial examination and X-ray results in Thailand determined that Son had a fractured fibula and tibia in his right leg.
Upon arrival at Noi Bai Airport in Hanoi, Son was taken directly to hospital by a medical team. The X-ray results determined that he had a complex closed fracture of the middle third of the two tibia bones, with two large separate pieces. The doctor decided to perform closed bone fusion surgery using an intramedullary nail with a pin under the fluoroscopy screen. This is a minimally invasive surgical solution, helping to minimize soft tissue damage and ensure quick recovery.
Dung said that this bone fusion treatment technique is basic and not difficult, but the patient is a professional athlete, so it requires the surgical team to operate meticulously and with 100% accuracy.
"We drive a nail through the fracture, fix it without invading the skin, muscle and periosteum, calculate every mm of the screw to fit the bone surface and ensure that when the bone heals, Son will not be affected when practicing and competing again," he added.
