Filipe Toledo was perhaps the safest bet to win this year’s VIVO Rio Pro.
Based on his track record, the Brazilian surfer has won in his home country for the past three consecutive years that the event was held (2022, 2019, and 2018).
However, Toledo went down in a close Round of 16 heat to fellow countryman, Jadson Andre, and he injured himself in the process. Check out an update below:
Filipe said:
“Hey guys, quick update here…
“After my MRI yesterday, it came back really positive. There are no ligaments that were…you know, they’re all intact. The only injury I have right now is cartilage. It’s going to take me a few days to get back in the water.
“Thank god I have an amazing team here with me.
“Other than that, I will be back in no time. Right now, I’ve gotta focus on my recovery and that’s what I’m going to do. Thank you so much for all you guys. I appreciate all the support.”
On his IG Stories, he shared more info:
“As you guys know, yesterday I suffered a little injury on the last wave of my heat. I felt a lot, a lot of pain. At first I thought my knee was completely blown. I was really scared. I went to get an MRI, and the MRI came back very positive. Nothing on the ligaments, nothing on the tendons. I suffered an injury on my cartilage, which will take me a few days to heal.
“I will be in J-Bay, I’ll be surfing, and I’ll be giving it my best. But right now, I have to focus on my recovery, and that’s what I’m doing. Everything is going super well, I have my PT here with me. It’s unfortunate that this happened, but now I gotta focus on my recovery so I can come back 100 percent at J-Bay.”
With a win in El Salvador and a win at Sunset Beach, Filipe sits very comfortably in the WSL’s top five rankings. And J-Bay is another event that he’s had success at in the past, taking home the win there in 2018. Here’s to a speedy recovery for Filipe.
Stay tuned for the Corona Open J-Bay coming July 13th-22nd.
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