She announced on social media that the surgery was successfully completed by Dr. Simon and his team in Auckland, New Zealand, on Wednesday morning.
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Sabitra Bhandari 'Samba', the striker of the Nepali national women's football team, has undergone a successful knee surgery.
She informed on social media on Wednesday morning that the surgery was successfully completed by Dr. Simon and his team in Auckland, New Zealand.
According to Samba, the surgery was performed in New Zealand on the advice of a specialist after it was difficult to reach the hospital in Qatar due to the unfavorable conditions in the Gulf region. She said that the rehabilitation process will now begin under the supervision of doctors and will continue in the hospital once the condition normalizes.
She expressed her gratitude to the Nepali community in Wellington and Auckland, her affiliated club Wellington Phoenix and the management team for their support during the treatment.
Earlier, on March 14 (a month ago), she had made a public appeal for financial support for the treatment. She mentioned that the old graft placed in the knee ACL and MCL were injured, requiring a complex surgery and an estimated cost of 80 thousand US dollars (more than 11 million rupees). After receiving support from well-wishers and various organizations, she stopped collecting support within 24 hours, thanking them.
Samba expressed dissatisfaction with the All Nepal Football Association in the appeal, saying that the treatment process was delayed. Although the treatment was easier at the initiative of ANFA earlier, this time she did not receive the expected support, the surgery date was set at the initiative of the club only three weeks after the injury, and she did not receive administrative support from ANFA. She mentioned that although the ANFA leadership informed that it would provide 500 thousand rupees in cash, she was asked to do the rest of the process herself.
Samba joined New Zealand club Wellington Phoenix in last July for the 2025-26 season. She was injured in a match against Brisbane Roar under the Australian Women's Football League on last Poush 5. In the second half of the match, he suffered a serious injury to his right knee after colliding with the opposing team's goalkeeper while heading a ball in the air.
Samba, who had to stay out of the field for a long time due to a serious injury, said that this was the most difficult stage of his career and that he would continue his comeback journey with the support of his fans.
