Sporting Kansas City defender Erik Palmer-Brown will miss the remainder of the 2014 season with a stress fracture to the fifth metatarsal in his right foot, the club announced on Tuesday. Palmer-Brown suffered the injury in training earlier today at Swope Soccer Village and will undergo surgery on Friday under the care of Dr. Kneidel with Carondelet Orthopaedic Surgeons.
The 17-year-old appeared in six matches for Sporting Kansas City across all competition in 2014, most recently starting in the team's 3-0 victory over Real Esteli FC in the 2014/15 CONCACAF Champions League last week. He made his professional debut in May, becoming the youngest player in MLS history to start a regular season match as a defender, for the first of three MLS appearances. Palmer-Brown also started each of the team's two matches in the 2014 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup, in addition to appearances in the 2014 Chipotle MLS Homegrown Game and this summer's Champions Shield against Manchester City.
Palmer-Brown is a member of the United States Under-20 Men's National Team, recently returning from an international training camp in Buenos Aires, Argentina earlier this month. He attended the prestigious U.S. Soccer Residency Program in Bradenton, Florida last year before being named one of five finalists for U.S. Soccer's 2013 Young Male Athlete of the Year.
A Lee's Summit, Missouri native, Palmer-Brown is a product of the Sporting Kansas City Academy. He became the club's third homegrown player upon signing a professional contract in August 2013.
