Estudiantes defender Santiago Arzamendia was successfully operated on after suffering serious injuries to his right knee. According to the Argentine News Agency, the Paraguayan defender suffered a tear to his anterior cruciate ligament, his medial collateral ligament, and also his medial meniscus during the 2025 Clausura Tournament final against Racing. In its first medical report after the operation, Estudiantes confirmed that the surgery was successful and was performed at the Platense Medical Institute, under the direction of Dr. Hugo Montenegro. Having been an important part of the 'Pincha' Clausura champion, and not playing in the Trophy of Champions final but lifting the cup anyway in a great gesture from his teammates, Santiago Arzamendia overcame a major operation on his right knee. The injury occurred in the Clausura Tournament final after receiving a hard tackle from midfielder Juan Nardoni on the left side of the Madre de Ciudades stadium in Santiago del Estero, which bent his knee inward and caused serious consequences. A week after the blow and a day after the Trophy of Champions final, the 27-year-old Paraguayan finally went to the operating room, with a successful operation. In the report published by the La Plata team, it was detailed that the defender had plastic surgery on both damaged ligaments and a suture on the meniscus. Thus, Arzamendia begins a recovery period that, due to the severity of the three tears he suffered, is expected to exceed six months of inactivity, so it is unlikely that he will be able to play in the 2026 Apertura Tournament and even his call-up to the next World Cup in Canada, the United States and Mexico 2026 is in jeopardy.
