CARSON, Calif. – Jack McBean underwent surgery on Tuesday to repair a fractured left clavicle suffered during the LA Galaxy’s 2-0 victory over Real Salt Lake last Saturday and according to LA head coach Bruce Arena, the injury may sideline the 18-year-old forward till mid-summer.
The injury occurred in the 51st minute of LA’s road win over RSL when McBean collided with RSL center back Nat Borchers. Prior to the injury, McBean had appeared in ten matches across all competitions while scoring two goals and tallying two assists.
Following training on Wednesday, Arena confirmed that McBean’s surgery was a success.
“Everything was good. My understanding was that it was a clean break, they surgically repaired it and we’re optimistic that he’ll have a speedy recovery,” Arena said.
As for a timeline for McBean’s return, Arena told reporters that he may return sometime in July.
“I think it is six to eight weeks,” said Arena. “I think they periodically check and see how the break is healing. Everyone is a little bit different, but that’s something where we would think that he would be ready at July in some point.
The injury will almost certainly rule McBean out of contention for the U.S. U-20 roster for the U-20 World Cup in Turkey roster as the tournament will take place from June 21 to July 13.
Despite the severity of the injuries, Arena admitted that injuries “are part of the game” and he had no ill will towards Borchers for the foul that led to the injuries.
“I’ve never seen that kind of injury on contact from behind on a shoulder blade,” said Arena. “I would have thought that you would have gotten a dislocation or a separation not a break like that so it was surprising. Borchers went in hard for the ball, so fair play.”
