Croatian striker Ivan Klasnic has launched a 1.5 million euros (2.3 million US dollars) lawsuit against two Bremen doctors for “gross mishandling” of his kidney complaint which led to a transplant.
Klasnic, 28, became the first professional footballer to return to international competition after he had a kidney transplant in March 2007.
According to German magazine Der Spiegel, the Croat's lawyer has started legal proceedings against sports doctor Goetz Dimanski and cardiologist Manju Guha, who were both working on behalf of Werder Bremen.
Hamburg lawyer Matthias Teichner says the pair failed to recognise signs Klasnic's kidney was failing as early as 2001 when he joined Bremen.
Teichner has collected medical evidence to show the player's kidney was only 67 percent effective when he signed for Bremen from St Pauli in 2001.
Had the problem been identified at the time, surgery could be been delayed by several years, claims Teichner.
After suffering renal failure, Klasnic had a first kidney transplant in January 2007 after his mother donated an organ, but his body later rejected it.
A second kidney donated by his father was transplanted in March and Klasnic missed most of last year, only making his return for Bremen in late November 2007.
He returned to international football in Croatia's draw with Scotland in a friendly last March 2008.
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