TUKWILA, Wash. – Struggling Seattle Sounders FC were dealt a blow Monday when they were forced to place central defender Jhon Kennedy Hurtado on the injured reserve with a torn left ACL. Hurtado suffered the injury lunging towards San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski in the closing seconds of Seattle’s 1-0 loss on Saturday.
After the injury, Hurtado slapped the turf and writhed in pain for some time before being helped over the touchline by the training staff. He was able to walk off the field under his own power but the extent of the injury was confirmed on Monday.
“It’s a big loss,” said general manager Adrian Hanauer. “Jhon Kennedy has been a solid defender for us for a year-and-a-half now and a great individual on the team. So we’re definitely shattered to lose Jhon and his presence on the team, his one-on-one defending, his quality.”
As Seattle move forward, they can take some solace as central defense is a position of some depth. Patrick Ianni, Tyrone Marshall and newly signed Jeff Parke all have MLS experience at that position. Taylor Graham, who is currently battling injuries, and Tyson Wahl can also line up in the middle.
However, the injury shakes up a Sounders roster that is already paper-thin up the middle. Against San Jose, Seattle were missing their top three center midfielders to injury. The club will also struggle to replace the continuity that Hurtado provided.
In his first two seasons with Seattle, Hurtado proved to be one of Seattle’s stalwarts. In 2009, the 26-year-old started and played the full 90 minutes in 28 of 29 appearances with one goal and one assist. He was named an MLS All-Star and was a finalist for Defender of the Year.
Hurtado’s age and high level of play last season led some to believe he was destined for a move to Europe. Despite the nature of the injury, Seattle coach Sigi Schmid said he was still hopeful that Hurtado could return to action before season’s end.
“We are going to put him on the IR and we’ll see how his recovery goes,” Schmid said. “Every person is different. It’s certainly going to be towards the end or in to the playoffs before he would be available.”
