Sporting Kansas City will be without one of their franchise players as they make a push to win their third MLS Cup.
The club announced Wednesday that right back Graham Zusi underwent successful surgery to repair a midfoot sprain in his left foot. The procedure was performed under the care of orthopedic surgeon Dr. Kirk McCullough at the Kansas City Orthopaedic Institute. He will be sidelined for the rest of the 2020 season and is expected to miss four to five months during his rehabilitation.
Zusi started 14 of Sporting's 15 matches this season, before suffering the injury. 20-year-old Jaylin Lindsey has started the last three matches and should be expected to hold onto the starting role for the rest of the season. Lindsey played just one match in 2019 due to injury after finishing No. 20 on MLSsoccer.com's 2018 22 Under 22 list.
Zusi's 294 regular season appearances since joining Sporting out of the 2009 MLS SuperDraft are tied with teammate Matt Besler for the most in club history. Zusi is a seven-time MLS All-Star and a 2014 World Cup veteran who earned 55 caps with US men's national team from 2012-2017. Sporting are currently in third place in the Western Conference and will be looking to lock up a top seed in the Audi 2020 MLS Cup Playoffs. They will face the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, as the Rapids return to the field for the first time in over a month due to a COVID-19 outbreak (8:30 pm ET | TV & streaming info).
