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Jordan Morris is likely finished for the year before it had really even started. The nightmare scenario was revealed on Saturday when the Fox Sports’ Stu Holden shared the news on Twitter that the 23-year-old had torn his ACL. The typical timeframe for recovery is six to nine months, which means there’s only a small chance he’d play again in 2018.
Terrible start to the weekend for #USMNT and @SoundersFC fans:
— Stuart Holden (@stuholden) February 24, 2018
Hearing Jordan Morris torn right ACL and will miss 6-9 months. Tough run for Morris- hamstring end of 2017 and now ACL.
Really sad to see and hope to see him back on pitch soon.
Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said testing won’t be performed until Monday, but being that Morris’ father is the team doctor this report is likely based on a very educated guess.
The injury occurred in the 85th minute of the Sounders’ 2-1 loss to Santa Tecla in the CONCACAF Champions League on Thursday. Morris was racing down the left flank and attempted to chip the goalkeeper with his right foot. At some point in the motion, Morris’ ligament snapped and he immediately went down. Morris received medical attention on the field and left the field without putting weight on his leg.
This marks the second straight year that Morris will miss significant time with injury. A year ago, Morris missed the last six games of the regular season and the first four of the playoffs with a hamstring injury. He recovered in time to come off the bench in the MLS Cup final.
Morris got an early start to this preseason, getting called into the United States national team and appeared to be well on his way to a rebound season after scoring a pair of goals in the Sounders’ final preseason game. While a little tentative at times, he also looked strong prior to his injury in the Santa Tecla match.
The injury also leaves the Sounders in a bit of a bind. Will Bruin will almost certainly assume the starting position, while Lamar Neagle and Seyi Adekoya will likely compete for minutes as his backup. But none of them offer the type of dynamic play Morris was capable of when he was at his best. The Sounders could attempt to sign a TAM or DP to effectively replace Morris, but it’s unclear if that’s the type of player they had been targeting already and could force them to completely rethink their transfer strategy.