UPDATE (April 18) – Atlanta United goalkeeper Brad Guzan has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon in his right leg, the club announced Monday. He'll undergo surgery later this week and faces a to-be-determined recovery period.
ORIGINAL (April 16) – Atlanta United’s injury woes took another hit during Saturday evening’s 0-0 draw with FC Cincinnati when goalkeeper Brad Guzan went down in the 71st minute via a non-contact injury.
Speaking postgame, head coach Gonzalo Pineda didn’t have an official diagnosis but described it as an Achilles injury.
“I don’t want to talk about the details about the injury, but it doesn’t look good,” Pineda said. “That’s why I’m sad, it’s not about the result or the performance, it’s about Brad’s injury. I have to wait for the scans and tests that they are going to do. No, it was not a knee injury, it was an Achilles injury.”
Guzan was replaced by MLS veteran Bobby Shuttleworth, while goalkeeper Dylan Castanheira is out long-term after suffering a ruptured left Achilles tendon in early April. Shuttleworth and Castanheira were both acquired in the offseason to provide depth. Homegrown goalkeeper Justin Garces was signed in January, too.
Guzan, 37, is the most experienced goalkeeper in MLS and has featured for the Five Stripes since 2017 after spending nearly a decade in England. He’s been capped 64 times by the US men’s national team.
“Brad is our captain, our leader, our heartbeat,” defender Andrew Gutman said. “It didn’t look good on the field obviously. We don’t know what the scans will be, but it’s a huge loss for us.
“He’s such a fantastic player, fantastic guy but we just have to support him throughout this whole process. He’s had such a great career and it can’t end like this and we just have to keep pushing him through and come back even stronger.”
Guzan spent 2005-07 with now-defunct MLS side Chivas USA before joining Aston Villa. He also featured overseas for Hull City and Middlesborough.
