What a shock. Absolutely devastating news. I could not believe it when I heard it. Abidal of all people? (not that I wish this to happen for anyone) Fucking hell (excuse my swearing) Not only I am going to miss him for FCB but also for Les Blues. The French press here is really shocked. A big blow for both FCB and France.
Adil is right. Having a sister that is a doctor I know from here that organ transplants are horrible and dangerous procedures. It's serious stuff especially for those who have a hard time finding a donor and suffer from complications when the body rejects the kidney.
But Abidal is lucky. Not only is he a top athlete in a very good physical condition but he also has the best doctors at his disposal. But obviously it is still going to be complicated. We can only pray for a quick recovery regardless of him being able to return on the field or not (this does not matter at all right now)
Unlike others, I would not rule a return out at all. Abidal is a very strong and dedicated character (this is very important for such a procedure and in all situations that are life-threatening) and is a top athlete in great physical form. Moreover as I said before, he has the best doctors at his disposal.
Let us not forget that Klasnic had TWO kidney transplantations (the first was rejected) and he still returned after a year. And that was 2 kidney transplantations (the first one was rejected)
I have not read the thread (nor have I checked the Spanish press today) so this might have been discussed but I am pretty sure that Abidal, his doctors, and FCB were aware of his condition long before the annoucement yesterday. Otherwise they would not have said that the operation will take place in the next 3-4 weeks. (you don't find a donor that quick). This is a good thing for obvious reasons so it should give him/his family/teammates etc an even bigger hope of getting through this successfully.