Sanusi injured his left knee during FC Porto’s game against Estrela last Sunday.
The injury, identified as a rupture in both the anterior cruciate ligament and the external lateral ligament of his left knee, will see the 26 year-old out for the rest of the season.
Porto’s head coach, Sergio Conceição, confirmed the necessity of surgery and that the player will require an extensive rehabilitation process as he works towards a full recovery.
“In principle, he will have surgery on Monday and he is somewhat anxious, it is normal. He has a serious injury, we’ll see, but the layoff will never be less than 7 or 8 months,” Conceição said.
“The group is sad, but at the same time it is very supportive, because we have a fantastic group, spectacular in that sense too. It’s with him. Zaidu will definitely feel this comfort from us.”
Zaudi Sanusi played prominent role in Nigeria’s 2023 Africa Cup of Nations campaign, but he’s now expected to miss the FIFA World Cup qualifiers against South Africa in June.