LAFC has had plenty of firsts this season. The MLS expansion franchise has been a force to be reckoned with in its inaugural season, sitting second in the Western Conference standings.
Now, the club will have to contend with its first major injury.
Bob Bradley will have some shuffling to do after the club confirmed that Marco Urena will undergo surgery for a facial injury suffered in last weekend’s victory over Seattle Sounders. The injury was first reported by Costa Rican outlet La Nacion.
Following on a @nacion report, an LAFC spokesman confirms to me that Marco Ureña will indeed have facial surgery for an injury suffered in Sunday's match against Seattle. Timeline for his return not yet clear.
— Sam Stejskal (@samstejskal) May 1, 2018
According to the Nacion report, Urena suffered microfractures under his left eye in a clash with Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei during the 1-0 victory on Sunday. Urena played the entire 90 minutes and was not substituted. According to that same report, immediately after the match, Urena had swelling and numbness in the area which prompted further tests that showed fractures. With the goal of being healthy for the national team’s trip to Russia for the 2018 World Cup, Urena reportedly asked to be operated on as soon as possible.
While MLS reporter Sam Stejskal’s tweet above says there is no timetable for Urena’s return to fitness, the Nacion report claims that it’s possible Urena will not play for LAFC again before the World Cup beings in mid-June. It says that he will continue to maintain his fitness while off the field, and could potentially restart contact drills after four weeks.
Urena has not scored yet this season in seven matches for LAFC, but he has been integral to the club’s solid start. The third pick of the expansion draft this past offseason from the San Jose Earthquakes, Urena has played all but 19 of the 630 possible minutes thus far this season.
