-International Gymnast Magazine-
World champion Aliya Mustafina suffered a torn anterior cruciate ligament Friday and will miss the 2011 Worlds, Russia's head coach confirmed Saturday.
Mustafina tore her left ACL and strained the medial collateral ligament (MCL) while landing a Yurchenko 2 1/2 vault at the European championships in Berlin.
The 16-year-old Muscovite will undergo surgery in Munich, coach Alexander Alexandrov said. Preparations are being made to extend her Schengen visa, which is set to expire Monday.
The recovery time from a torn ACL is approximately eight months, a surgeon told IG. Several gymnasts have successfully recovered from a torn ACL the year before the Olympic Games, including Americans Annia Hatch and Justin Spring. Hatch suffered a torn ACL in August 2003 and returned to win silver on vault and with the U.S. team at the 2004 Olympic Games in Athens. Spring tore his ACL in August 2007 and helped the U.S. men win the bronze at the 2008 Olympics in Beijing.
