Jeremy Ebobisse injured in USMNT U-23 camp

UPDATE: In a press release put on on Tuesday afternoon the Timbers have confirmed Ebobisse’s injury and surgery, and have said that he is “expected to return to action in time for the start of preseason”.

The Portland Timbers could be missing a player at the start of the preseason after an injury to forward Jeremy Ebobisse while away on national team duty. According to a tweet from the Athletic’s Matt Pentz, Ebobisse suffered a lateral meniscus tear during the United States Men’s National Team’s fall U-23 camp.

Per Pentz’s tweet, Ebobisse will undergo surgery to repair his meniscus today and is expected to be out for 6-8 weeks, which should see him ready to make his return in late January to early February with the Timbers’ preseason kicking off on January 18th.

Ebobisse joined the U-23 camp following a “pre-camp” with the USMNT and played two friendlies with the side, starting and going 46 minutes against Brazil on November 14th and coming on as a late sub to log 12 minutes against United Gran Canaria on November 17th.

With Diego Valeri’s status in limbo with the Timbers and two currently open designated player slots in the team’s roster, Ebobisse and Sebastian Blanco are the current centerpieces of the Timbers attack. Ebobisse is coming off a career year in 2019 during which he played in all 34 of the Timbers’ regular season matches, starting 25 of them and tallying eleven goals and one assist in 2310 minutes of play.