Roger Espinoza out for ten weeks with left sesamoid fracture

Roger Espinoza is out for ten weeks with a left sesamoid fracture, Sporting Kansas City announced Thursday morning. Espinoza is not expected back until at least October.

The injury occurred in the 86th minute when Nathan Sturgis tackled Espinoza near the middle of the field on a dangerous play. Sturgis was subsequently ejected and you can see the play below, two and a half minutes in.

The sesamoid is a load bearing part of the foot, right near the big toe. The visual below explains the location of the fracture better.

There is no word on how this will affect Espinoza's suspension, which was handed down yesterday in response to his challenge on Tyler Deric this past Saturday.

As for replacements for Espinoza in the starting lineup, Paulo Nagamura is the natural choice for the time being, considering that it was his position in between Espinoza's tenures in Kansas City. Another option is recent signee Jordi Quintilla, who Sporting KC assistant coach Kerry Zavagnin said they like to "make their midfielders two-way players," and would like to see the same thing happen with Quintilla.

Update

It appears Espinoza will likely be out for the rest of the regular season as the rehabilitation part of the recovery will take longer than the ten weeks originally said in the Sporting KC press release.

Espinoza says he's been told it's 10 weeks for the injury to heal, then more time for rehab. Hopes to be back for playoffs. #SportingKC

— Sam McDowell (@SamMcDowell11) August 6, 2015