Second-year Louisville City FC player Niall McCabe underwent successful arthroscopic surgery Wednesday afternoon to repair a hip labral tear on his left side. The midfielder is expected to make a full recovery and, after rehab and recovery, return to the field in 2017.
“We were obviously very disappointed to lose Niall, as he was having a consistent season for us,” said LouCity coach James O’Connor. “The surgery will alleviate the pain he has been getting, and by taking a proactive approach, we will hopefully have him ready for the start of preseason.
“I would also like to thank Scott Ritter, our head athletic trainer, and Baptist Health Sports Medicine, which has been a great partner for us.”
McCabe, who last appeared in a game Aug. 10 as his injury became bothersome, tallied 2 goals and 4 assists this season playing mostly as a central attacking midfielder. The native of Ireland also scored 3 goals in 2015 as a key contributor to LouCity’s inaugural campaign.
Ritter likened McCabe’s ailment to fellow midfielder Magnus Rasmussen’s labral tear suffered in 2015.
“It’s not as severe,” Ritter said. “We’re also a good two months ahead of where we were with Magnus last year. Niall should be better after this. The operation is going to give him more hip range of motion, power and mobility.”
Rasmussen made his first start of the year Aug. 27, filling in at the No. 10 spot occupied most of the season by McCabe. Back to full strength, Rasmussen returned to the scoring column in Saturday’s 2-0 win over the Richmond Kickers with a 55th-minute strike from distance.
Along with defender Paco Craig and forward Ilija Ilic, McCabe is one of three players on LouCity’s roster out of Young Harris College, a Division II program in Georgia. There, he played four years and was named an All-Peach Belt Conference first team performer in 2012.
In a tweet after surgery, McCabe wrote, “Wanna say a BIG thank you to everyone who wished me well. It means a lot. Obviously I’m disappointed I can’t help the team during a crucial time in the season, but I’m 100% confident that the lads will do the business over these final few weeks.
“I will be supporting them all the way and have no doubt that the boys will do the team, staff and the supporters proud.”
Two games remain in LouCity’s regular season before the club returns home Oct. 2 to Louisville Slugger Field for a 7 p.m. opener to the United Soccer League’s playoffs. First, LouCity travels to play rival Saint Louis FC on Saturday before hosting the Charlotte Independence on Sept. 24.
