Sporting Kansas City are going to continue their assault for the Supporters’ Shield and MLS Cup without Teal Bunbury. The club announced on Monday that the third-year forward is out for the season with a torn ACL.
Bunbury suffered the injury in his left knee during Sunday’s 1-1 draw with New York at Livestrong Sporting Park. The 22-year-old collided with Red Bulls goalkeeper Bill Gaudette in the fourth minute after setting up Kei Kamara’s opener.
He is scheduled to undergo surgery on Friday to repair the torn ACL as well as a damaged LCL in the knee and is expected to be out for six to eight months.
It’s a big loss for Sporting, even though Bunbury hasn’t played as prominent a role this season after leading the team in scoring in 2011. The Akron alum has netted six goals through all competitions in 2012, the third-highest total on the team despite losing his regular starting role to C.J. Sapong.
Beyond Kamara, Bunbury and Sapong, Sporting KC’s options for pure forwards are slim. Soony Saad has logged only 305 minutes in league play and has yet to score a goal, while rookie Dom Dwyer has yet to make an appearance.
