The injury bug has bitten Chris Schuler yet again.
Real Salt Lake announced on Tuesday that their first-choice center back will miss 4-6 weeks of action after undergoing successful surgery to repair a torn medial meniscus in his right knee on Monday.
The Salt Lake Tribune reports that the injury, a locked meniscus tear, was sustained during warmups just before RSL's home match against the Vancouver Whitecaps, a 1-0 setback that ended Real's undefeated start to the season.
“I'm pleased to say that Chris' surgery went very well today,” said RSL team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cooper, who performed Monday's surgery, in a statement. “He and I have worked through injuries over the years. He's tough, and I think he'll fight through this and do very well and be playing fairly soon.”
The 27-year-old from St. Louis has been afflicted by a variety of injuries over his six-year MLS career, including facial fractures last season, chronic injuries in both feet in 2012 and 2013, a broken foot in 2010 and an unrelated knee issue earlier this month.
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Schuler has appeared in 79 MLS matches for RSL; last season, he started a career-high 25 matches. 22-year-old Guatemalan Elias Vasquez started in place of Schuler on Saturday.
Real Salt Lake (2-1-3) return to action with a visit to the New England Revolution on Saturday at Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts (7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
