KUALA LUMPUR – The National Sports Institute (NSI) will partially cover the cost of Ng Tze Yong’s anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) treatment, though it was ultimately the national men’s singles shuttler’s decision to undergo surgery in Germany.
A source familiar with the situation revealed to Scoop that preliminary plans were set for the 2022 Birmingham Commonwealth Games silver medalist to receive treatment from Dr Gan Eng Cheng, a consultant orthopaedic trauma and sports surgeon at Sunway Medical Centre.
Tze Yong, who injured himself during the first round of the Super 500 Malaysia Masters in May, was originally slated for surgery on June 16. However, the 25-year-old later decided to have the surgery performed abroad, specifically in Germany.
“To clarify, Tze Yong was the one who asked to have ACL surgery in Germany. After an initial evaluation and mutual agreement, he chose to be treated by Dr Gan and received approval from NSI. The surgery was estimated to cost about RM40,000.
“However, he later decided to seek treatment in Germany instead. NSI will continue to offer partial support as initially planned and help with some logistics.
“Tze Yong has promised to obtain additional funding, likely from the Johor state government, to cover the expenses,” according to the source.
The source has indicated that Tze Yong is expected to finalise his choice of hospital. Scoop has reached out to the player for comments but has yet to receive a response.
Tze Yong recently returned to competitive play this year after being out for more than a year. The player from Johor was previously viewed as a strong candidate for the 2024 Paris Olympics but suffered a lower back injury at the Malaysia Open in January of last year.
He underwent two surgeries, which ended his Olympic aspirations.
This year, he only participated in four tournaments before facing another setback. Additionally, Tze Yong cannot apply for a protected ranking from the Badminton World Federation (BWF) because such applications are only permitted once every two years.
Recovery from ACL surgery usually takes between nine months to a year, and in some cases, it can take even longer. – June 25, 2025