Sporting Kansas City has announced that midfielder Felipe Gutierrez underwent successful sports hernia surgery on Tuesday and will be sidelined for two to three months, dealing a blow to the club's bright start to the season.
The Chilean International arrived at Sporting KC in February as a Designated Player signing and immediately ignited his side's attack, scoring five goals in his first five matches. But he had appeared only once as a sub since scoring and then leaving injured in the 53rd minute of a 1-0 home victory against D.C. United on March 31.
Gutierrez spent the first eight years of his professional career in Chile, Netherlands and Spain.
Sporting Kansas (5-2-2, 17 pts) enter Week 10 atop the Western Conference table, two points ahead of LAFC (5-2-0, 15), four up on Vancouver (4-4-1, 13) and five in front of FC Dallas (3-1-3, 12). Yohan Croizet has started in Gutierrez' place while the Chilean has been out.
MLS Fantasy Impact: Bastian Schweinsteiger ($10.9) or Benny Feilhaber ($10.2) could be good alternatives to Gutierrez. Start playing!
