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UPDATE: Tim Howard will undergo season-ending surgery on his groin, meaning Zac MacMath assumes the Colorado Rapids’ starting goalkeeper duties beginning with the Western Conference finals.
According to ESPN FC, a source close to US Soccer said that United States and Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Tim Howard will be out “months, not weeks” with the right adductor injury he suffered in the USA’s match against Mexico on Friday. The US Soccer Federation sent out a press release after the match identifying Howard’s injury, and that he would be missing the USA’s next World Cup qualifying match against Costa Rica.
The press release said that Howard would undergo further evaluation in Colorado, but ESPN FC’s source said that the goalkeeper would likely require surgery and miss the rest of the MLS Cup playoffs—maybe even the start of Colorado’s 2017 preseason.
If this is all true and Howard misses the finals, the Rapids will have to use backup goalkeeper Zach MacMath. The 25-year-old was in good form in the first half of the season before Howard arrived, and he was particularly irritated at losing his place to the veteran. The Rapids are set to face the Sounders in the Western Conference finals, starting with the first leg in Seattle on November 22.