Berlin, June 11 (IANS): Japanese international Atsuto Uchida has decided to fly home and get operated on his injured knee. He didn't consider his club Schalke 04's suggestion of conservative treatment, which has angered his club.

Uchida has not played for his club since March 10, when they defeated Real Madrid 4-3 in the Champions League last 16 second leg. He sought the solution from both team doctors about his patella problem, even Munich-based expert Hans-Wilhelm Mueller-Wohlfahrt was asked for help, reports Xinhua.

"We were convinced that it made more sense to take on a conservative approach to treating the injury. That was an opinion also shared by German national team doctor Mueller-Wohlfahrt, who Uchida visited a number of times," Schalke director of sport Horst Heldt said.

But what is done cannot be undone as Uchida is going to miss some pre-season training which will start in July. Horst said, "We will see how the first six weeks of Uchida's rehab in Japan go and expect him to return to Germany after that."