CLEARWATER, Fla. — On the final day of training camp, D.C. United on Saturday announced the injury update it had feared all week it would have to make.
Paul Arriola, a key figure in the attack and a U.S. national team member, is expected to miss the entire MLS season after tearing his right ACL in a preseason match last weekend.
Arriola, 25, will undergo reconstruction surgery Monday and need up to nine months of recovery and rehabilitation. United will open the seven-month regular season next Saturday.
Both the team and standout winger had clung to slim hope that he might be able to return this summer.