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Bunbury out for season with torn ACL

Bunbury (Getty Images)

Sporting Kansas City's quest to add another trophy this season has suffered a major setback.

Starting forward Teal Bunbury is out for the season after tearing his ACL and suffering LCL damage in his left knee in the club's 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls Sunday night. Bunbury suffered the injury in the fourth minute while setting up the club's goal and colliding with Red Bulls goalkeeper Bill Gaudette in the process.

Bunbury will undergo surgery on Friday and be out for 6-to-8 months, according to a Sporting KC press release, which means he could be back in time for the start of next season and Sporting KC's foray into the CONCACAF Champions League. The injury puts pressure on second-year forward C.J. Sapong and less-tested forwards Soony Saad and Dom Dwyer to pick up the slack while Bunbury recovers. Other options up top include Jacob Peterson and Bobby Convey, but both are currently injured. Sporting KC could also opt to find help in the form of a trade or a free agent forward ahead of the Sept. 15 roster freeze date.

Bunbury had cemented his place in the starting lineup, starting 13 of the last 16 games for Sporting KC after winning the job following an extended stay on the bench to begin the season. He scored five goals, and the assist Sunday night was his first of the season.

What do you think of this development? Do you think SKC's front line is good enough for the club to win MLS Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Right-then he changed his mind, which, seeing as he didn’t live in the country past the age of 2, isn’t that crazy. Maybe it made sense to him more in theory than in practice? Maybe he said that stuff because his dad played for Canada and he felt obligated to?

    People are allowed to change their minds, believe it or not.

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  2. “I was born in Canada and I would love to play for the country I was born in. I think it would be an honour,” Bunbury said.

    “For me, I was born in Canada, I have a lot of family members there, and it would feel wrong for me to play for the U.S. I feel a connection with Canada.”
    – Teal Bunbury, 2010

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  3. Right, because people are never allowed to change their mind, right? I get what he said, he was also 19. Dude hasn’t lived in Canada since he was 2, has an American mom, lived in the US from 10-22 (now), etc. IF he wanted to play for Canada that’d be acceptable given his history, but he has a stronger case for being American than Canadian.

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  4. Wow… clearly someone hasn’t seen Will Bruin play at all this year. His progression from last season is monumental.

    He’s shown excellent technical ability this year, even during his recent dry spell. Go back to the HOU-CLB game and watch a few minutes before Gaven’s goal.

    Bruin holds the ball up in traffic at the top of the box and executes a beautiful turn and shoot that unfortunately goes just wide of the post.

    It will be a couple of years before he features with the Nats, if at all, but he’s certainly on track.

    Stop making uniformed comments, please.

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  5. Bruin is not on that list. Poor technical ability and soccer awareness.

    Bunbury has strong technical ability, good soccer IQ, and good work rate

    I haven’t seen Wooten play but he’s 22 and still in Bundesliga 2. He should be on a Div 1 side by now.

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  6. Disagree…SKC has plenty of depth at Striker. Bad break for Bunbury, though.

    What SKC needs is a central midfielder that can hold up the ball and orchestrate the attack. Julio Cesar should be playing Center Back.

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  7. He may be down the pecking order at the moment, but both Gomez and Wondo are on the tail end of their International careers. Gomez has shown well in the recient matches, but Wando, while good for club hasn’t done anything for country. Same for EJ.
    Over the next 2 years I’d expect at least 2 of the 3 (Gomez, Wondo, EJ) to drop out of the picture. By 2014 the striker pool will likely be Jozy, Boyd, Agudelo, Wooten, Teal, and maybe Sapong. I’m sure there are others…but based on recient form and performances these are the likely choices.

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  8. Sucks for him but I think KC is fine with Sapong. They are just as set to win the cup as anybody else in the top eight or nine.

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  9. I was surprised that didn’t earn Yellow on Gaudette for the kick. It was clear he was late getting to the ball and was taking it out on Teal.

    Sucks for SKC, and him. He was actually coming into form, and now a long rehab. If CJ recovers last year’s form, all isn’t lost, but they’re going to need him to remember how to score. The forward line hasn’t been efficient with its chances this season as is. This is a team that is near the top of the league in shots, but middle of the pack in goal-scoring. Love the way they play, hate the way they finish.

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  10. Tough break, I like Teal a lot and was looking forward to seeing him play in RBA. Do hope to see him in a USNT Jersey some day. Even though it seems we need more consistant players at other positions.

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  11. Teal is dangerous, CJ, unless its inside the 6 yard box, is the opposite of dangerous. CJ is a great target to play off of, but isnt what SKC really needs to score.

    This sucks for SKC, kiss shield or cup goodby

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  12. “colliding with Red Bulls goalkeeper Bill Gaudette in the process.”

    Guadette just ran through him, awkwardly, and for no reason

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  13. Different take, Bunbury’s biggest weakness it seems is movement off the ball and decision making, could an extended stay out injured force him to watch more games, start reading the game better and have him come back as a much better player for gaining the soccer intelligence? just a thought. Hope he has a speedy recovery and best of luck to him in the future.

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