U.S. Star Ramos Reinjures Knee; World Cup in Doubt
Tab Ramos, the U.S. national soccer team’s star midfielder who overcame a serious knee injury to spark the squad’s attack in World Cup qualifying this fall, reinjured the same knee and will be sidelined at least six more months.
Ramos, 31, will undergo surgery to repair his left anterior cruciate ligament Monday at Duke University Medical Center.
“It is an enormous disappointment for us and Tab,” U.S. Coach Steve Sampson said Saturday morning at a news conference. “Tab is obviously very, very disappointed because he had come back and played well.”
Ramos, the U.S. team’s most creative player, probably will not be fully recovered in time to play in his third World Cup next summer in France. There still is a question of whether the United States will qualify, and Ramos’ injury will make it much more difficult.
Ramos, who plays professionally for the Major League Soccer’s New York/New Jersey MetroStars, first tore the ligament last November in a World Cup qualifier in Trinidad and Tobago. He didn’t return to the MetroStars until June and wasn’t in the U.S. lineup again until an exhibition in August against Ecuador.
On Sept. 7, in his first qualifier since the injury, he showed flashes of his old playmaking brilliance and scored a dramatic goal to defeat Costa Rica, 1-0, in Portland, Ore.
But at the team’s training camp at Big Bear Lake, he felt something go wrong. Initial MRI exams did not reveal any ligament damage, but arthroscopic surgery confirmed the team’s worst fears.
