The ugly injury that Will Johnson suffered resulted in a fractured tibia and fibula, and the Timbers announced their captain has undergone successful surgery to stabilize the injury.
The club also announced that Johnson is expected to be out around six months, which would put him on track for a return in late March, right around the start of the season.
Often, fitness becomes a problem at that point, so at this point it’s reasonable to assume that Johnson may miss the start of next season.
Johnson suffered the injury against Toronto FC, his hometown club, and Toronto coach Greg Vanney said after the match it was hard for him to see.
“Players know and he knew immediately [he was hurt],” Vanney told reporters. “That was for me, the moment, the second I knew he was in trouble. It was a sad moment because I think he’s a great player for this league. I hope he recovers well and quickly.”
“It’s a matter of inches and millimeters, one guy getting a broken leg and one guy being able to walk away. It’s a sad moment.”
Toronto midfielder and USMNT star Michael Bradley - a teammate of Johnson’s both as a kid and in Europe - was by Johnson’s side during the length of his on-field treatment. It wasn’t easy for him either.
“As a player and as a competitor you hate to see anybody get hurt. But when it’s one of your closest friends it’s not nice at all,” said Bradley. “If you were close to it, you could hear — the way they crashed into each other — you kind of knew that that was a hard one. I thought the medical staff and everybody did a good job. More than anything, at that moment, you’re just trying to let him know you’re there for him and make sure he’s as calm and comfortable as possible.”
Early this morning, Johnson told fans on Twitter that he was delighted for the support from fans and is well after surgery:
