Sporting Kansas City returned to Phoenix, Arizona on Monday for the second leg of pre-season preparation at the Reach 11 Sports Complex for the upcoming 2011 season. However, three Sporting players did not travel with the team due to injuries.
Midfielder Konrad Warzycha, taken in the third round of the 2011 MLS SuperDraft, was diagnosed with a femoral condyle defect in his right knee last week and will be out 6-8 months. He will undergo surgery in Columbus, his hometown, where he starred at Ohio State University and led the Buckeyes with eight goals during his senior season in 2010. Warzycha, 22, is the son of Columbus Crew Manager Robert Warzycha.
Warzycha's injury comes on the heels of the loss of forward Teal Bunbury, who suffered a dislocated elbow in Kansas City's pre-season match against the Houston Dynamo last Tuesday. Though initial tests revealed no broken bones and no nerve damage was sustained, Bunbury's latest evaluation set the timetable at four to six weeks for his return. Bunbury remained in Kansas City on Monday to continue rehabilitation, but team trainer Chet North indicated he could join the team in Arizona at a later point.
Kansas City is also without creative playmaker Ryan Smith as he recovers from a knee injury ahead of the 2011 season. Smith, who appeared in 26 matches last year and led Kansas City with seven assists, is listed as day-to-day while rehabbing at Providence Medical Center and the team's Swope Park Training Center until cleared by the team's physician and medical staff.
Sporting will play a pre-season doubleheader on Saturday as they face the expansion Portland Timbers at 12:30 p.m. CT at the Casa Grande Sports Complex, followed by a scrimmage against the Montreal Impact at 2:00 p.m. CT. Montreal is slated to join MLS in 2012 as the League's 19th team.
