Following his side's 2-2 draw with the Galaxy last week, Bob Bradley was visibly upset to start his press conference. But he made it known right away, it wasn't the scoreline that was at the front of his mind.
"Yeah, I'm in a bad mood," Bradley said as he sat behind the microphone. "I'll start with the worst news of the night. It's Mark-Anthony Kaye. Fracture, inside of the ankle. [Needs] surgery. So that part has had me in a bad mood since I got the report at halftime."
After training on Thursday, Bradley gave an update on Kaye and when he might be expected back on the pitch.
"Mark-Anthony Kaye has, I believe, surgery coming up on Monday, and the expected rehab on that is probably four to six months," Bradley said.
Kaye injured his left ankle in a challenge with the Galaxy's Perry Kitchen around the 18th minute of the match on July 26. He had to be helped off the pitch by the LAFC training staff after a foul was called on the play. While Kaye was in tears leaving the match, the extent of his injury wasn't known until Bradley's announcement at the postmatch press conference.
Joining LAFC from USL side Louisville City FC, Kaye had started in 20 of the team's 21 matches in 2018. Primarily used as a wide player in midfield at Louisville, his acclimation to a central role in Bradley's midfield and the higher level of play in MLS was one of the stories of the season for the Club.
"We're all so disappointed for him. He's grown throughout the season. On our team, in the midfield, he has qualities that are a little bit different than the others. He's got a little bit more range, closes down a little bit better with his long legs, he still has a way to get forward and to get in the box. He has an ability to recover and deal with the situations behind him, and I think as the season moved along, his ideas with the ball, his vision, his thought process, everything just improved and improved.
"So when you have a young player, and you see him getting better every game, to see his season end that way, that's hard to take."
