Ex-Man United defender Marcos Rojo suffers serious knee injury at Boca Juniors

Former Manchester United defender Marcos Rojo has suffered a serious knee injury playing for Boca Juniors in his native Argentina.

Rojo, who left United in February last year, tore the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Boca's 1-0 win at Sarmiento in the Primera Division on Wednesday.

Boca said Rojo, 32, will undergo surgery on his knee on Monday and it's likely he will face several months on the sidelines.

He suffered the injury just a few minutes after seeing a penalty saved by Sarmiento goalkeeper Sebastian Meza.

It was a pretty innocuous incident with Rojo reaching for the ball under no real pressure and appearing to get his studs caught in the turf.

Boca's No 6 crumpled to the ground as Sarmiento forward Luciano Gondou stepped over him and immediately signalled to the bench while holding his knee.

Rojo looked close to tears as he took his place on the subs bench following initial treatment, with heavy strapping around the joint.

He had to be consoled by team-mates and watched on as a goal by Luca Langoni on the stroke of half-time kept Boca clear of Atletico Tucuman at the top of the standings.

Speaking after the game, Rojo told the club's website: 'I feel sad, everything indicates it is the ligament. Tomorrow, I have to do the scans, let's hope it's nothing.'

Boca subsequently confirmed that his worst fears had been realised.

Rojo had only just returned to the Boca side after receiving an unusual punishment from the Argentine FA for kicking River Plate's Nicolas de la Cruz in the head during the Superclasico last month.

He was handed a one-match suspension for the red card that resulted and was then banned from captaining Boca for a month.

It isn't the first time Rojo, who has made 61 Argentina appearances with his last one in 2019, has suffered a cruciate ligament injury.

He needed seven months of recovery after suffering a similar injury playing for United against Anderlecht in the quarter-finals of the UEFA Europa League in April 2017.

Rojo didn't return to action until the end of November, missing United's victory in the competition.

Having fallen out of favour at Old Trafford, he was sent on loan to Estudiantes in Argentina in January 2020 and subsequently joined Boca just over a year later.