Columbus, OH – Columbus Crew midfielder Eddie Gaven will miss the remainder of the 2013 season after suffering a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee.
Gaven suffered the injury in the second half of Columbus' victory over the Dayton Dutch Lions on Wednesday in the third round of the U.S. Open Cup.
"Eddie's MRI showed that his ACL was completely torn and that he had bruised his bone in a pattern that was consistent with tearing his ACL," team physician Dr. Pete Edwards explained. "He didn't have any other obvious meniscal or cartilage injuries, which is good.
"It's much better that this appears to be an isolated ACL injury. He needs to get his knee moving and we need to calm down the inflammation over the next week or two," Dr. Edwards continued. "As soon as his knee is ready for surgery, we'll do that in the next one to two weeks. At this stage of the season, this is a season-ending injury."
Gaven played in all 34 matches last season for the Crew to share the team's scoring lead with forward Jairo Arrieta with nine goals. After starting the 2013 season opener against Chivas USA, he became the fourth player in club history to play 200 matches and he currently leads the team with four assists this season.
Gaven began his professional career at 16 years old and became the youngest player in MLS to appear in 250 matches (25 years, 257 days) in 2012.
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