William Yarbrough Knee Surgery Sidelines Goalkeeper for 6-8 Weeks

COMMERCE CITY – Colorado Rapids confirmed on Tuesday afternoon that goalkeeper William Yarbrough has had knee surgery. This was to address a meniscus tear that listed him as out for tomorrow’s game against LAFC. The recovery is expected to take 6-8 weeks. This came after a late night cryptic tweet from the player’s father, Lee.

When it rains, it pours. Especially for the 2023 Colorado Rapids.

This is just another major injury to an important veteran player. Six weeks from now will be October 3. At that point, the Rapids will have just three games left in the regular season. Pending a massive surge from the Burgundy Boys, they likely will be eliminated from the playoffs by then.

This will simplify the club’s goalkeeper decision, short and long term. Expect Marko Ilić to start tomorrow and most if not all games while Yarbrough is out. The club had a curious path to bringing him on permanently, especially since he had yet to dethrone Yarbrough as the starter. Ilić has just six first team appearances since joining the club in February. Half of those came in Open Cup. Tomorrow will be his first minutes since June 10.

The front office and goalkeeper coach Chris Sharpe are very high on Ilić. Burgundy Wave has heard numerous club sources say they think he could have a big future both in MLS and potential sell-on value back to Europe.

‘Did the Rapids sign Ilić to be the replacement for Yarbrough? Are they moving on no matter what after this year?’

Plenty of Rapids fans have had that thought. Yarbrough is 34-years-old. This injury might be the easy out for the club to decline his 2024 option and go with Ilić as the starter next year. There’s a very real possibility Yarbrough has played his last game for the Colorado Rapids. Pending a surprising winning streak, he’s played his last meaningful game of the year.

Yarbrough has been the one consistently good player on an otherwise poor defense the last year and a half. His communication and tactical knowhow were critical in the 2021 season. He set the club record for clean sheets back in April, beating out MLS Cup winner Matt Pickens. With Jack Price and Diego Rubio out, he’s worn the captain’s armband.

Dude was the only player to come out of the locker room at almost midnight to thank supporters for sticking around after a game was postponed due to lightning back in June. If this is the end, it’s a damn shame. If the club does cut ties with the American international, they better be right about Marko Ilić.

This injury is more evidence that something is not right between the training facility at DSGP, the medical staff, or the training methods. This is the fourth major knee injury in the last two years. Colorado’s been one of the most injured teams in MLS this season. Is this really horrible luck or is there something the club is doing that’s making players more injury prone?

If there’s one positive, the two young goalkeepers will get more reps in first team practice. Adam Beaudry’s been around first team training of late. Abraham Rodriguez will be Ilić’s backup. He could get his first MLS minutes since his substitute debut at Portland June 25 last year.

Colorado Rapids take on Los Angeles FC tomorrow at 8:30 PM MT. This game was rescheduled due to Hurricane Hilary.

Photo Credit: Mark Shaiken.

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