AMSTERDAM — LA Galaxy defender Omar Gonzalez is set to return home to have surgery for a left ACL rupture suffered in his first training session while on loan with FC Nürnberg on Thursday afternoon.
The 23-year-old got the bad news after a MRI on Friday revealed the damage from a practice collision with US right back Timothy Chandler. After just one day on the FCN campus, Gonzalez has officially been recalled from his loan by the Galaxy to undergo treatment.
According to the Galaxy, more information on the extent of the injury will be released once Gonazlez is examined by team doctors back in Los Angeles.
"The team doctor in LA is doing the operation," FC Nürnberg press officer Arndt Sonneck told MLSsoccer.com. "Then we will see if he can come back to Nürnberg, but the most important thing is that he is better. That is the first thing, that he can recover in good time."
Gonzalez made his disappointment known via Twitter on Friday.
"Still in shock that this happened. Your support and well wishes will carry me through a strong (and hopefully quick) recovery!" -- @Omar4Gonzalez
Despite such a brief stay, Gonzalez will be leaving FC Nürnberg with only the warmest regards.
"It was such bad luck for Omar," Sonneck said. "As our manager, Dieter Hecking, said, 'That's football.' You don't want to see that happen to anyone. In only a day, we could see he is a good person and player. Everyone at the club wishes him the best recovery."
The standard recovery time for this injury is about six months, though some athletes have fully recovered in only four. The FCN medical staff won't have the final call on setting a return date, but Sonneck confirmed that they estimated Gonzalez typically should get back to action during the four-to-six-month window from the initial exam.
