After Jaylin Lindsey undergoes knee surgery, Sporting KC signs a right back
After replenishing the depth of its roster over the winter, the Sporting Kansas City front office positioned itself to remain relatively quiet in the season’s initial months.
Plans change.
A handful of injuries have extinguished player availability, prompting Sporting KC to return to the market.
The club signed Nicolas Hasler through the end of the 2019 season.
Hasler, a right back, was waived by Chicago last week. He will become the immediate backup to Graham Zusi. That spot belonged to 19-year-old Jaylin Lindsey, but he suffered a torn meniscus in his left knee last week. He will miss 4-5 months after surgery.
Sporting KC continues to rotate between the CONCACAF Champions League and MLS regular season. It faces Monterrey in the CCL on Thursday before traveling to Cincinnati for an MLS match Sunday. That necessitated a backup for every position, and Lindsey’s absence left a hole at right back.
The timing with Hasler sparked a fit.
“With Lindsey being out, this was the fastest move we could make,” Sporting KC coach Peter Vermes said. “It was going to be really difficult to find a right back and bring him into the team. And if it’s an international player, waiting on paperwork, we’d be losing what we already need. We need players now. We’re fortunate that (Hasler) is available and we’re able to bring him in as soon as possible.”
Hasler, 27, has played in 37 league games since joining MLS in 2017. He started 20 matches for Toronto FC before joining moving to Chicago midway through the 2018 season. Hasler has also played 59 matches for his home country of Liechtenstein, where he also spent the first eight years of his professional career.
Lindsey injured his knee warming up before a practice last week. He is the third Sporting KC player to suffer an injury in the last three weeks. Daniel Salloi remains out with an ankle injury, though he was jogging along the perimeter of the practice field Tuesday, and Erik Hurtado is out with a knee injury.
This story was originally published April 2, 2019 at 1:46 PM with the headline "After Jaylin Lindsey undergoes knee surgery, Sporting KC signs a right back."