Barcelona defender has successfully undergone surgery, will likely return in mid-March

Barcelona defender Marcos Alonso has successfully undergone surgery to address his back issues, reports Javi Miguel of AS.

The defender underwent a successful operation on his lower back this Tuesday afternoon by specialist Amélie Léglise – the same one who operated on Marc-André ter Stegen – in Bordeaux.

The 33-year-old will now have a two-month recovery period and is expected to be back sometime in mid-March.

Alonso had missed Barça’s last five games due to the back problems and opted to go under the knife after conservative treatment did not yield the desired result.

With a two-month stint now on the sidelines, the left-back will miss a minimum of twelve matches: nine La Liga games, one Copa, one Super Cup, and another in the Champions League.

And the Spaniard could end up missing even more if Barcelona progress further in the cup competition between January and February, or reach the final of the Super Cup.

Alonso will return to Barcelona today, with the aim of starting his recovery as soon as possible. The defender has not played much this season and all signs point towards him being released at the end of the season when his contract expires.