Defender Marvell Wynne's MLS career has gotten off to a inauspicious start. The No. 1 pick in last month's MLS SuperDraft will likely be sidelined for up to two weeks for what the MetroStars believe is a sports hernia.
The former UCLA and U.S. under-20 national team standout is scheduled to fly to Germany on Monday night and get evaluated by renowned Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck. If surgery is recommended, the procedure is likely to take place Wednesday in Munich.
Wynne originally had surgery to repair the sports hernia Feb. 11, 2005 and was sidelined three to four months. But that procedure wasn't performed by Muschaweck. She has operated on more than 1,500 athletes, including former Chicago Fire midfielder and current D.C. United coach Peter Nowak, German international goalkeeper Oliver Kahn and former England international striker Alan Shearer, and the recovery time from her procedure, known as the Minimal Repair technique, is usually less than three weeks.
Last year, three Metros had the surgery -- Chris Leitch, Ante Razov and Michael Ueltschey.
The operation, which uses only local anesthesia, would take place at UM Hernienzentrum, located inside the Arabella Sheraton Hotel in Munich.
Wynne could start light jogging as early as Thursday and is expected to fly directly to Los Angeles on Friday and join the MetroStars at The Home Depot Center in the third leg of the team's preseason training, which is from Wednesday through March 9.
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
