Jordan Morris will return to the United States to prepare for surgery, which will be conducted by the same doctor who repaired his torn ACL in 2018. Dr. Bert Mandelbaum operates in Santa Monica, California. Morris tore his left ACL on Saturday, while on loan to Swansea City for the championship.
“First of all, we have been in contact with Jordan and he has our full support during this difficult time for him and his family,” said Sounders FC general manager and president Garth Lagerwey in a team statement. “It is important for us that he receives the best care possible, as well as the most comfortable environment to recover.
“Having gone through this before in 2018, seeing Jordan suffer another injury of this nature makes it equally devastating and promising. We know firsthand the resilience of your character and look forward to the day when he will step on the football field again. In the meantime, we are focused on welcoming him at home and ensuring that he has the full support of our club. “
Assuming Morris will be on a similar schedule to his previous injury, it will probably take at least 6-9 months for him to return. In 2018, the Sounders and Morris were relatively conservative with his recovery and, although he managed to return to training before the end of the season, it took just over a year between competitive appearances.
In the meantime, the Sounders will have limited capacity to replace Morris. They will receive some relief from the salary cap due to the payment of Morris’ salary by the city of Swansea in the first half of the season. In addition to about half of their salary coming out of books, the Sounders also recover part of the allocation money they would otherwise have to spend. This probably earns them at least $ 500,000 in additional flexibility.
For better or for worse, however, that was the money the Sounders had hoped for and said they probably wouldn’t use it at least until a new sports director was hired.
In theory, at least, Sounders can receive additional relief if they put Morris on the injury list at the end of the season, whose main provisions are:
- The injured player must earn at least $ 100,000 a year.
- The injured player must have suffered an end-of-season injury prior to the closure of the Primary Transfer Window and the new player must be acquired from that date.
- The substitute player can win up to $ 250,000, but no more than the player who suffered the injury at the end of the season.
- A credit for the replacement player’s charge amount will be applied to the player who suffered the End of Season Injury. The club must reimburse the League for an amount equal to that credit.
- Clubs will only be allowed to hire one replacement player per MLS League season.
The only question seems to be whether or not Sounders can further reduce Morris’s limit to its already reduced value. Assuming they can, the additional space on the limit would be enough to hire a U-22 player or an MLS veteran on the lines of a Harry Shipp.
In 2018, the Sounders chose not to put Morris on the injury list at the end of the season, but the circumstances this time have some significant differences. The biggest difference is that Morris was not a senior line-up player the last time, which means that there was very little salary cap or line-up relief that the Sounders couldn’t even receive.
Still, Sounders need not be in a hurry to make a decision. The rules stipulate that they can wait until the primary transfer window closes on June 1 to decide whether or not to put Morris on the injury list at the end of the season, which should give them time to better assess their schedule. return. Although it is somewhat unlikely, it is at least largely possible that Morris will be back in late summer.