Will Bruin out for the season with ACL injury

Update Thursday: Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer confirmed Thursday that Will Bruin will miss the remainder of the season with a torn ACL.

Update 9:00pm Tuesday: Multiple sources indicate Bruin’s injury is to his ACL, though the severity of the injury is not yet confirmed. If it is an ACL tear, there is generally a recovery timeline of between 9-12 months. The sources said the ACL injury was serious, which indicates more than a mere sprain.

TUKWILA, Wash. — The Seattle Sounders’ depth at forward took a significant hit Tuesday as Will Bruin left practice with what the team is characterizing as a “right leg injury.” It did not appear to be a muscle injury.

Coach Brian Schmetzer didn’t offer any sort of diagnosis, but did say “You could tell it was serious because the trainers were taking no chances.”

The injury occurred during a standard training exercise. Bruin and goalkeeper Bryan Meredith both challenged for a ball and collided, at which point Bruin went to ground and clutched his leg. He was carted off the field with his leg stabilized in a cast.

Bruin is being evaluated and a full prognosis will be provided later. The loss of Bruin long term would leave Alfonso Ocampo-Chavez as the only forward available, with Raul Ruidiaz and Jordan Morris away on national team duty. Both forwards are likely to be out when the Sounders return to league play on June 29, but Ruidiaz could be back as soon as July 3 and both will almost certainly be back no later than July 14.

Justin Dhillion, who is signed with the Tacoma Defiance, was at practice today, coincidentally making his way to the field at the same time Bruin was carted out. Dhillon leads the Defiance with six goals this year. He would have to be signed to a first team contract unless the Sounders apply for a hardship waiver, which only is granted when a team has fewer than 14 players available for a game.