The second best Peruvian surfer in the QS ranking, Miguel Tudela, announced today on his social networks that he will be missing the first prime event of the year, the Ballito Pro, due to a torn posterior ligament.

In his message, Tudela explains that the specialists offered him two options: surgery, which requires more recovery time, or strengthening the leg muscles. He opted for the second option based on the fact that, as the doctors could see, he had been suffering from this injury for some time and he was surfing without any discomfort.

A month ago in Indonesia, the Peruvian suffered a motorcycle accident that caused superficial injuries and pain that did not seem substantial. However, he had an MRI when he arrived in Peru (after competing in one of the heaviest events on the calendar, the Arica Pro Tour) and this gave the aforementioned diagnosis.

“I am super positive that I will make it to the US Open and be able to represent them again,” Tudela wrote. “Things happen for a reason and I know that this is a little stone in the road that will make me stronger,” he concluded.

The injury comes a couple of weeks after the current top Peruvian in QS, Lucca Mesinas, announced that he would be missing some events due to a back injury that worsened in Indonesia. In any case, it seems that Mesinas will be able to compete in the Ballito Pro.

Tudela is ranked 22nd and Messinas 17th.

It's hard to express this but here it goes! These last few days I've felt trapped, scared and confused by some news that caught me quite cold. Following the accident I had in #Indonesia, about 1 month ago I had an MRI of my knee to rule out anything else, when it was time to get the results it showed that I had a torn posterior cruciate ligament and a small injury to my kneecap, something that surprised me quite a bit since my knee was swollen but there was never any pain that showed a torn ligament. I went to the traumatologists and apparently these injuries have been with me for several years. I was presented with 2 options, the clearest was to have surgery and the other, since I've had a torn ligament for several years and competing at a very high level, was to simply strengthen my knee as much as possible! In the end, after talking to many experts on the subject, we decided to work on the muscles that fix the knee and see what happens in 3 weeks, if I feel instability after this strengthening, unfortunately I will have to go for surgery! For now I have had to withdraw from the first prime event of the year in South Africa but I am super positive that I will make it to the US Open and be able to represent them again! Things happen for a reason and I know that this is a stone in the road that will make me stronger! #NeverGiveUp #AlwaysPositive #Let'sGoForward #TrueToThis ? @elmundoderabbit

A publication shared by Miguel Tudela (@migueltudelach) the 12 Jun 2018 has 4: 21 PDT