Atletico Madrid's Augusto Fernandez undergoes knee ligament surgery

Atletico Madrid midfielder Augusto Fernandez has promised to come back strong after having surgery on a torn anterior cruciate ligament.

The Argentinian suffered a complete tear of his right ACL during Sunday's 1-0 triumph over Deportivo and had surgery on Tuesday evening in Madrid.

A statement from Atletico read: "The tests that the midfielder underwent confirmed that he had a complete tear of the anterior cruciate ligament of the right knee. The Argentinian was operated on in the Cemtro Clinic and after several hours of surgery, there were no complications with the procedure."

Fernandez, 30, joined Atletico in January 2015 from Celta Vigo and is expected to be sidelined for seven months.

"I will return with more determination than ever," Fernandez said. "I've received so many well wishes and I'm grateful for all the support I've been getting."

And Atletico coach Diego Simeone says everyone at the club will support Fernandez in the coming months.

"He knows that the group is with him as he begins his recovery," Simeone said. "We will wait for him, we needed him.

"Augusto has a big heart and is a fantastic sportsman.

"His teammates love him and we hope he will be back playing before the end of the season."

Fernandez posted two photographs on his Instagram account a day prior to the operation, which showed him enjoying a barbecue with several of his teammates, including Diego Godin and Antoine Griezmann.

Ya más tranquilo, les quiero agradecer a todos por los mensajes y las diferentes muestras de apoyo que me brindan, realmente me reconforta muchísimo recibir tanto cariño, esto es simplemente un desafío más que estoy listo para afrontar. Solo me queda darle gracias a Dios por tanto y encomendarme a Él en la operación de mañana y en el proceso de recuperación que se viene. Acá les comparto dos fotos de hoy que tienen gran valor para mí, ya que es el reflejo de la calidad humana de mucha gente que me va presentando este hermoso deporte!! A todos, nuevamente gracias y siempre para adelante ������������

A photo posted by Augusto Fernández (@augusto12fernandez) on

Sep 26, 2016 at 3:33pm PDT

Fernandez included the message: "I'm calmer now. I want to thank everyone for their messages of support.

"It's very comforting to receive so much love. This is just another challenge that I'm ready to face. Here are two photographs that I share with you, that have great value to me, and that is the reflection of the human quality that this beautiful sport brings to me."