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Michael Bradley to miss approximately four months following ankle surgery

Michael Bradley will play no part in Toronto FC’s first few months of the 2020 MLS regular season.

Toronto FC confirmed Wednesday that Bradley will miss approximately four months of action after undergoing successful surgery on his right ankle. Bradley sustained the injury on Nov. 10th in TFC’s 3-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders in the 2019 MLS Cup.

The 32-year-old re-signed with TFC this offseason via a deal that no longer makes him a Designated Player. The injury was not believed to be serious at that point, but was labeled by TFC general manager Ali Curtis on Monday as being “very severe and complicated.”

Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore lamented on Monday how Toronto FC managed Bradley’s situation.

“Make no mistake, in my opinion, for me, it was handled poorly,” Altidore told reporters. “This was an injury from two months ago and it’s not the first time this has happened (at the club). … For two months to have gone by and now he’s having surgery and out until June.”

The injury will rule Bradley out of the U.S. Men’s National Team March friendlies against Wales and the Netherlands.

TFC opens the 2020 MLS season on Feb. 29th at the San Jose Earthquakes.

Comments

  1. This should force GB to find a replacement, not named Trapp. The injuries are starting to add up to more failures in upcoming games.

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  2. Bradley has never played at the level of that Adams is at currently. Time to let natural progression happen, and say goodbye to Bradleysaurus

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    • Either you’re too young to remember or are suffering from selective memory. There was a period of time where Bradley was a significant contributor to his club sides in Germany and in Italy. During that period of time he was at the peak of his ability, and was arguably a better player than Adams currently is. Part of that is simply that Bradley seemed to always be healthy…where as Adams, to this point, has only played half a season for RB.

      That being said I’ve argued for Bradley to be replaced ever since the completion of the 2014 WC Cycle. I felt that JK did a huge disservice to the USMNT by holding onto Bradley, Jones, Beckerman and others well after he should have moved on from them. Yes, there would have been some bumps in the road….but we likely would have been in a better position during the 2018 cycle….and would of had a cleaner transition to the Adams & McKennie era.

      If Bradley had any since of class & accountability he should have stepped away from the international game after the T&T loss in 2018.

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    • Has any other US player scored 3 goals against Mexico in meaningful games? That he did that from a position where he was not counted on for a lot of goal production that is pretty remarkable.

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  3. Age and injury are the bane of professional athletes. M. Bradley has been pretty resilient, but the ability to recover from injury always suffers as one gets older and he is no exception in that regard. I wish him well and hope he can recover from this injury, but realistically it will be a reprieve of several months, not several years. Players’ careers often end in this way.

    It is past time some of the young guys step up and fulfilled the promise they have shown. I still do worry that no player, not Adams, not McKennie, not Yuell have demonstrated the ability to be in an open position for teammates who are under pressure as well as Bradley. In truth only Bradley has done that well for the USMNT and it needs more than one player who has the soccer sense to be open, visible and available at the time a teammate needs help to get out of pressure. Without multiple players doing that 100% of the time the USMNT will continue to struggle, no matter the youth, skill, aggressiveness and athleticism of the players.

    Bradley will be sorely missed by his teammates for that reason alone.

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    • I give him credit for helping to get Toronto into the finals, but realistically his great years are quite a bit past him and he was very overpaid last year. Toronto was asking for it when they signed him and the USMNT for relying on him when it was time to move on.
      Great career tho.

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  4. I am sorry to learn this news. However much his speed and agility may have fallen off, you can’t say he didn’t work hard for the US team for many years. If I recall correctly, Altidore had been concerned about the conditioning and treatment at that club ever since Giovinco left and reportedly a really good physio or medic left with him. Back stories like that could still benefit from additional journalistic followup.
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    This is not the moment to run Bradley down when, like any patient, he needs support. Let’s simply wish him as healthy and as complete a recovery as possible. At this point we must hope that his priority will be his own health going forward. No one wants a serious injury to cast a shadow on the rest of a young man’s life. Maybe he can get in touch with Santi Cazorla during his rehab.
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    • He had it all. And was given all. Giving all, should have always been his minimum. Time to let others get their chance, like his dad for him and now move on to coaching youth kids or something.

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  5. IMO this should put and end to Bradley’s inclusion as a USMNT “A-List” player.
    Adams, Morales, Yueill, & hopefully Cappis will use this opportunity to keep Bradley far, far away from the team going forwards.
    The game against Canada last November showed that Yueill is capable of filling in against mid level CONCACAF opposition….while Adams has shown in B-1 that he’s equal to the task of shutting down quality attacks.

    These guys may not have the experience that Bradley does, but they more than make up for that in raw talent and athletic ability.

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