Chinese striker Wu Lei to have knee surgery, miss at least two months

Chinese striker Wu Lei is set to undergo a knee operation that will leave him out of action for at least two months.

Wu has been nursing a right knee issue, which ruled him out of China's last two 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers – a 1-0 away win against Bahrain and 3-1 home defeat to Japan this past November.

Wu was also dropped by the Chinese national team for its current training camp in Haikou, south China's Hainan Province.

He initially tried a more conservative treatment method, to no avail.

"The problem will not go away, completely, without an operation," Wu told reporters. "It's very disturbing. If I don't have an operation, it will get worse than last year."

He added that he is discussing the procedure and post-surgical rehabilitation process with his club, Shanghai Port.

Wu is expected to be sidelined for at least two months after the operation, which means he will miss China's next two World Cup qualifiers, on March 20 against Saudi Arabia on five days later against Australia.