Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang will miss Deportivo de La Coruña’s match against Levante as the club opens the ninth round of LaLiga 2026/27 without one of its most productive attackers. The 37-year-old is still recovering from surgery on his right knee after a partial tear of the external meniscus, an injury that has kept him out since September.
That absence matters now because Aubameyang had already been directly involved in seven goals in his first appearances of the season, with five goals and two assists before the setback. Deportivo’s attack has been built around that output, and losing him for a match of this size changes the way the team can approach Levante from the start.
The injury dates back to 20 September against Real Betis, when Aubameyang suffered the knee problem that forced surgery a few days later. The initial expectation was a layoff of about two months, but recent information from Deportivo’s environment points to a shorter recovery of five to six weeks, which would put a possible return at the end of October 2026 or the beginning of November if rehabilitation continues well.
That shorter timetable does not erase the uncertainty. Recovery from meniscus surgery depends on whether the knee responds cleanly to the workload step by step: first pain and swelling must settle, then movement must return, then training intensity has to rise without a setback. Until those boxes are checked, a return date remains a target rather than a promise.
For Deportivo, the immediate problem is simpler. The team goes into Levante without a forward who had already become central to its early-season scoring, and the next few weeks will show whether the revised estimate holds. If it does, Aubameyang could be back before the calendar turns deep into November; if it does not, the club may have to wait longer for the player who changed its attack in the opening stretch of the season.
