SAN JOSE, CA - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that defender Eddie Robinson will undergo surgery on Thursday, April 29 to repair the ruptured tendon of his left hamstring muscle. Robinson is expected to miss the remainder of the 2004 Major League Soccer season.
"This is obviously a difficult injury for Eddie and the team," said Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear. "Eddie is a very important part of our team and we are going to miss him on the field. However, we are looking forward to Eddie making a full recovery from this injury and we hope to see him on the field again soon."
Earthquakes team orthopaedic surgeon Dr. Michael Oberlander will perform the surgery at Sequoia Surgical Pavilion in Walnut Creek on Thursday.
Robinson was forced to leave the Quakes 1-0 loss to Colorado on Saturday in the 22nd minute with a left hamstring injury. The Earthquakes medical staff diagnosed him with a ruptured tendon of his left hamstring muscle at the game and that diagnosis was confirmed on Monday by an MRI.
After consulting Dr. Oberlander on Tuesday afternoon, surgery was determined to be the best course of action.
Robinson, 25, is in his fourth season with the Earthquakes after being selected in the second round of the 2001 MLS SuperDraft by San Jose. He played in just one match in his rookie season, before having a breakthrough season in 2002, appearing in 19 games and scoring two goals.
The former University of North Carolina standout was invited to a training camp with the U.S. National Team at the conclusion of the 2002 season. Last year, Robinson overcame early season injury problems to help lead the Quakes to their second MLS Cup in three years. He played every minute of the Quakes final three playoff matches in central defense.
