SAN JOSE, Calif. - The San Jose Earthquakes announced today that leading scorer Brian Ching and midfielder Brian Mullan will miss four to six weeks due to injuries suffered in Saturday's match against FC Dallas and defender Craig Waibel will miss the rest of the 2005 season due to a multi-ligament injury in his right knee. Ching injured his hamstring in the late stages of the first half of Saturday's 0-0 tie with Dallas. Mullan suffered an avulsion fracture in his left ankle in the second half of the game.
Ching had a Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) late Monday afternoon to determine the extent of the injury. He is expected to be out four to six weeks while recovering from the hamstring strain.
Mullan, who has started all seven games for the Quakes this season, had an X-Ray examination on Monday afternoon, but the results were not fully conclusive. After undergoing an MRI exam on Tuesday morning, an avulsion fracture of the bone was confirmed. Mullan will undergo surgery on Thursday, and is expected to miss four to six weeks.
Waibel underwent surgery on Tuesday afternoon to repair his lateral collateral ligament in his right knee. During the course of the surgery, the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in the knee was also found to be damaged enough to require a full reconstruction. Waibel will now miss the remainder of the 2005 MLS season due to the injury.
"Craig, Brian (Ching) and Brian (Mullan) are major parts of our team and it is unfortunate to have them all go down with injuries," Earthquakes head coach Dominic Kinnear said. "They have all had great starts to the season and we hope they have a good recovery and we look forward to seeing them back on the field."
Ching, 26, currently leads San Jose with four goals and two assists and was recently named the Maggiano's Player of the Month for April. He has also started all seven games this season for San Jose. In his Quakes career, he has played 47 games, scoring 22 goals and notching eight assists.
Mullan, 27, is in his third season with San Jose, where he has become one of the top right midfielders in Major League Soccer. In his three seasons in San Jose, Mullan has scored nine goals and dished out 18 assists. Through seven games this season, Mullan has played 578 minutes and notched one assist to help San Jose get off to a 2-1-4 start.
Waibel, who has started and played 527 minutes for the Quakes in their first six games of 2005, injured the knee in the Earthquakes scrimmage against Santa Clara University on Tuesday, May 10. The University of Washington product has played in 53 games in his San Jose career, scoring one goal and registering four assists.
