Robbie Keane's ailing Achilles' tendons will go under the knife Wednesday as the Irish striker looks to complete some needed maintenance in his first extended offseason in years.
The LA Galaxy captain, a finalist for MLS' Most Valuable Player award, is in London for the surgeries, he told local media during a conference call on Tuesday morning.
“I've got to get some procedures done tomorrow on the Achilles problem,” said Keane, who has dealt with the problem for several years and this year missed assorted games because of it. “I'll get that done, and then it's rest and a lot of rehab, so that's mainly what I'll be doing [during the offseason].”
Keane led the Galaxy with 16 goals and 11 assists in just 23 MLS regular-season games -- he scored 20 goals in all first-team action -- and LA were a far different team when he was on the field (12-4-7, with 44-19 goals for/against) than when he wasn't (3-7-1, 9-19).
“You get nothing for nothing in this life. You have to earn it,” Keane said. “To be honest with you, this year we didn't deserve it. We were too kind of inconsistent. We didn't deserve it this year, so sometimes you just have to hold your hand up and just accept it.”
The Galaxy's loss to Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Semifinals, a month before the Dec. 7 title game, provided a lengthy break that Keane acknowledged would be helpful.
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“[The tendons have] been bothering me for a long time, and this is an opportunity to get it done,” he said following the decisive second-leg loss in Utah. “It will be nice to have an extended break, but not too long.”
Keane went on loan to Aston Villa during the offseason before 2012 campaign, and he was asked during Tuesday's call whether he would entertain such a move this year.
“Well, if I'm getting a couple operations, I wouldn't say so,” he replied. “Would you?”
