João Chianca Plans Trestles Run Despite Broken Foot
NXTbets Pro | Published On: September 10, 2026
Chianca injury
João Chianca left Cloudbreak with a broken left foot. The Brazilian surfer said he suffered the injury during the Fiji Pro, then flew back to California to begin rehab. Medical details point to a serious setback, an acute, non-displaced oblique fracture in the cuboid bone, along with probable bruising in the fourth and fifth metatarsals. Even with that damage, Chianca said he still plans to surf the Trestles Pro, and he said he intends to do it against doctors’ recommendations.
The injury came in a heat that showed both promise and frustration. Chianca lost to Morgan Cibilic at Cloudbreak despite an 8.67 ride, even as the result slipped away. That mix of pain and production gives the injury its weight. He was competitive enough to land a major score, but the foot injury arrived at the same time and changed the focus from one wave to the larger question of whether he can keep his season moving. The trip back to California gives him a place to recover, but it also underscores the speed of the turnaround. He is moving from the injury in Fiji to rehab and preparation for a return he has already committed to making.
Trestles stakes
The Trestles Pro carries more than a start list for Chianca. He is ranked 18th and needs a result there to stay inside the men’s tour top-22 cutoff, which gives the event direct standing in his season. That ranking puts him in a tight range. He is close enough to the cutoff that one event can shape the next stretch of his year, and the injury makes that task harder. Chianca has said he still wants to compete, which makes the event a test of both recovery and resolve.
His situation is simple enough at the surface and difficult underneath. He has an injury that doctors do not want him to surf on, and he has a ranking that keeps the pressure high. That pressure matters because Trestles is not just another stop for him. It is the place where he has to turn a setback into points. The foot will decide how much of that plan he can execute, and the ranking will decide how costly any limitation becomes. Chianca has already made his intent clear. He wants to enter Trestles and surf. Now the focus shifts to whether the body can match the decision.
