SALT LAKE CITY - Real Salt Lake goalkeeper D.J. Countess underwent successful arthroscopic surgery to his left shoulder yesterday evening. The five-year veteran had his left shoulder labrum sewn back together, with the surgery performed by U.S. Men's National Team doctor, Bert Mandelbaum, at Santa Monica Orthopedic in Santa Monica, Calif.
"I feel very good. I'm very confident in what Dr. Mandelbaum did with my shoulder," said Countess, speaking from Santa Monica, Calif. "The surgery was a success and I'm looking forward to next season. He felt that we made a good decision in getting me into surgery to get my shoulder back to full strength in time for the 2006 season."</p>
Countess hopes to meet his goal of recovering in three months, in time for the 2006 preseason camp which begins on Wednesday, Feb. 1 in Salt Lake City, Utah. </p>
The Fair Oaks, Calif. native, a product of UCLA, was selected via a weighted lottery with Major League Soccer by the MetroStars on Aug. 8, 2001 and has played 54 career MLS games with 54 starts. Before his surgery he saw time in 27 games, all starts, for RSL and made a total of 112 saves on the season. Countess produced four shutouts during the season on April 2 against the MetroStars, on April 16 against Colorado, on May 18 against Chivas USA and on July 23 against FC Dallas. </p>
