Ajax USA
May 9 2006

Knee surgery for Egdar Manucharyan

08 May: Edgar Manucharyan underwent knee surgery in Amsterdam on
Monday. The operation was necessary because there was a tear in his
right kneecap. The 19 year-old Armenian will need most of the summer
break for his recovery, but is expected to be fit for Ajax’s first
training of the new season on Tuesday 04 July.

Everyone at Ajax firmly believes in the talent of Edgar Manucharyan,
but the young Armenian has been very injury-prone in his first season
in the Dutch capital. Manucharyan, who can play as a ‘number 10’ but
also at every position in the forward line, joined Ajax on a try-out
in late 2004. His first appearance for Ajax-1 was in the 14 December
2004 friendly against FC Barcelona, but the unfortunate youngster
broke a metatarsal after precisely 13 minutes of action.

The club promised Manucharyan a second chance after his rehab. He got
it in April 2005, impressed the technical staff and penned a
three-year contract on 15 April 2005. In his first season as an
Ajacied Manucharyan had four official appearances in the Eredivisie
and one in the Champions League. He only had one full game: at Sparta
Rotterdam on 02 October 2005. He made an excellent impression as a
left winger, but his injuries turned out to be persistent. They
haunted him throughout the year.

July 2006 will hopefully mark the real start of Edgar Manucharyan’s
career at Ajax. (MP)

Source: Ajax.nl