AMSTERDAM – Still shocked by the serious knee injury suffered by Terrence Boyd, 2.Bundesliga promotion hunters RB Leipzig will wait to set a return timeline for the US forward until after his forthcoming surgery.
The 23-year-old sustained tears to his right anterior cruciate (ACL) and lateral collateral (LCL) ligaments after going down without any contact in the 35th minute of a 1-0 home loss to Alfredo Morales' Ingolstadt.
"He has a cruciate rupture in his right knee and also his meniscus is damaged," Red Bulls press officer Christina Happel told MLSsoccer.com on Monday afternoon. "A surgery is necessary which will be scheduled in the next days.
"How much time it will take for him to come back is unclear by now. I think we know more after surgery."
Boyd, who arrived this past summer from Rapid Vienna, already experienced a late start to his Leipzig tenure due to a partial tear of the same ACL during the preseason. Upon suffering Sunday's greater setback, his cries were audible around Red Bull Arena.
Return times for athletes who suffer an ACL tear usually range from about six to nine months. An LCL injury typically will not add extra rehab time, but it may make the entire process more arduous.
Boyd has managed three goals in his first eight RB Leipzig matches across all competitions. Currently in eighth place and just three points shy of the promotion zone, they will now likely continue without him until well into 2015.
Greg Seltzer covers Americans based in Europe for MLSsoccer.com.
