SALT LAKE CITY --
Real Salt Lake General Manager Garth Lagerwey announced that rookie defender Tony Beltran today underwent surgery in Munich, Germany to repair a sports hernia injury on his left side. Dr. Ulrike Muschaweck, a specialist who has performed this particular surgery on more than 1,000 professional soccer players worldwide, including current RSL midfielders Brennan Tennelle (July, 2008) and Kenny Cutler (August, 2007), diagnosed Beltran with an inguinal hernia. Dr. Muschaweck performed bi-lateral sports hernia repair, known colloquially as an "adductor release" procedure on Tuesday. The recovery time for Beltran, who returns to Salt Lake City tonight, is two to three weeks.
"We are pleased that Tony's surgery was successful, and we look forward to Tony fighting his way back into our back-line rotation and contributing down the stretch," said Lagerwey.
Real Salt Lake acquired Beltran with the #3 overall pick in the 2008 MLS SuperDraft on January 18 of this year. The 20-year old UCLA product has appeared in 13 games during his rookie campaign for Real Salt Lake, mostly at right back, starting 10 and registering one assist. He has been unavailable for RSL's last 5 League matches due to the left adductor strain, and missed first division club action earlier this year when he was selected to the U.S. U-23 squad that competed in the Toulon (France) International Tournament.
Single-Game Tickets for October 9 & 18 Contests at Real Salt Lake's Sandy Stadium NOW ON SALE
Only three weeks remain until Real Salt Lake's new Stadium opens its doors to the public, and individual game tickets for the debut events at the new home in Sandy - the team's final two 2008 regular-season games, on Thursday, October 9 vs. New York (8:00 p.m. MT, live on ESPN2) and Saturday, October 18 vs. FC Dallas (7:00 p.m. MT) - are now on sale to the general public. Fans are able to purchase seats for the historic dates at RSL's new home either online at www.RSLstadium.com and www.RealSaltLake.com or over the phone at 801-924-8585, or by visiting the RSL Front Office at the Trolley Corners building (515 S. 700 East, Suite 2R) in Salt Lake City.
Single-game tickets for the final two home contests of the regular season are available for $15 (Upper Deck), $18 (North Goal), $25 (Corner Flag), $30 (Lower Sideline), and $60 (VIP), with discounts in each section available for group purchases of 20 seats or more. A limited number of premium seats are available for $75 (Sideline Club), $100 (Club) and $125 (Center Circle).
RSL Closes Tenure at Rice-Eccles Stadium Saturday with Key Clash v. CD Chivas USA
After playing four of its last five games away from home, Real Salt Lake (8-9-7, 31 pts.) will return to Rice-Eccles Stadium one final time this Saturday, Sept. 20, when the Claret-and-Cobalt will welcome CD Chivas USA (8-10-6, 30 pts.) for a match that will mark the Utah MLS side's last game on "The Hill." Kickoff for the pivotal Western Conference clash between the 2005 expansion partners is set for 7:00 p.m. MT.
With Real Salt Lake clinging to second place in the Western Conference standings by one point over Chivas USA, Saturday's match will take on extra importance as the sides look to qualify for the 2008 MLS Cup Playoffs with just six games remaining in the regular season. The contest will mark the final of three meetings between the expansion brethren, with the sides splitting the first two games earlier this season, both of which were contested at The Home Depot Center in Carson, Calif. The "Goats" gained the upper hand in the series opener on April 5, with a 3-1 victory, but Real Salt Lake would strike back for its lone road victory of 2008 to this point on June 14, a gutsy 1-0 win in which a goal from FW Robbie Findley in the 34th minute would stand tall. While Real Salt Lake sits at 3-7-3 all time against Chivas USA, the Utah side has defended its home turf well in the series, going 2-1-2 in five meetings at Rice-Eccles. Speaking of defending its home turf, Real Salt Lake will be looking to close out its 2008 tenure at Rice-Eccles in undefeated fashion, with the squad going 7-0-5 in its dozen home dates in MLS play leading up to Saturday's contest.
Tickets for Saturday's showdown can be purchased by calling the RSL offices at 801-924-8585, in person at the RSL office at 515 S. 700 East, Suite #2R (Trolley Corners building) in downtown Salt Lake City, or online by visiting www.RealSaltLake.com. Fans that can't make it can follow the action live via RSL's radio partners - JACK-FM 103.1 (RSL First Kick pre-game coverage beginning at 6:00 p.m.) and "Ke Buena" 1600-AM.
