Vancouver Whitecaps star will miss start of the season after undergoing surgery
The Vancouver Canucks and the Vancouver Whitecaps had something in common on Tuesday.
While the Canucks revealed that Thatcher Demko would miss the rest of the season, the Whitecaps announced that one of their stars was also on the shelf due to surgery.
Thankfully for the Whitecaps, the news wasn’t as dire.
The ‘Caps announced on Tuesday that Ryan Gauld would miss the start of the MLS Regular Season after undergoing an arthroscopic debridement procedure on his left knee. With the Whitecaps in Spain for training camp, Gauld’s surgery took place a little further east in Innsbruck, Austria.
The Scottish striker had been dealing with a left knee capsule sprain and bone contusion since last March, which forced him to miss most of the regular season.
When he returned, his Whitecaps were one of the most feared teams in the MLS, making a run all the way to the Finals versus Inter Miami FC.
The 30-year-old played a supporting role during the team’s playoff run, with the most he played in one match being 59 of the 120 minutes the Whitecaps played during their epic duel with Los Angeles FC.
His limited minutes may have led fans to believe that his knee was never quite right.
āFollowing recent consultation with a specialist, everyone agreed that this was the best course of action at this time,” Vancouver Whitecaps CEO and Sporting Director Axel Schuster said in a press release.
The Whitecaps also said that Gauld is expected to make a full recovery by April. The Whitecaps play six games total before then.