Anyone following the game against Colorado knows by now that Steve Zakuani suffered a terrible injury tonight. It was pretty clear at the time that his leg was broken and that's been confirmed by the Sounders training staff. He'll undergo surgery tonight.

Priority 1 is helping Steve as a person. This is a serious blow to a promising career to which he's dedicated his entire professional life. I haven't had the pleasure of meeting Steve, but even from afar you can tell he has a tremendous, generous personality and deserves nothing less than the outpouring of love and support he will receive. He has a long recovery ahead and anything you can do to remind him constantly that Seattle fans and the Sounders community have him in our thoughts and are wishing the best for him will help. I'm sure the team will create opportunities for that. The next home game should be a showcase for that.

Priority 2 is Steve's Sounders career. That means getting through the surgery and then the long road to recovery. Last season the Sounders training staff was honored as the league's best. We've seen them get Jhon Kennedy Hurtado back into form from a bad injury and Steve will need the same effort. It's way too early to speculate with any precision about how long he might be out, but I think it's best to set expectations at 'out for the season' and go from there.

Priority 3 is figuring out what to do without Steve manning the left wing. I'm going to leave any consideration of that to another day, but I won't begrudge anyone else the chance to go over the Sounders' options as long as we keep priorities 1 & 2 in mind.