Kansas City Current attacker Claire Lavogez out with ACL tear

The Kansas City Current announced the bad news Thursday that midfielder Claire Lavogez suffered a tear to the anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) in Sunday’s quarterfinal match against the Houston Dash. While it was not unexpected, the news just makes it harder for the Current as they fight through the playoffs. The Current stated that Lavogez will begin her rehabilitation immediately and is expected to make a full recovery.

“We are incredibly heartbroken for Claire with this injury. She has been nothing short of an incredible teammate, asset and human being since she arrived in Kansas City,” said general manager Camille Levin Ashton via press release. “We look forward to her return and our entire organization will offer the full support of all our resources for her throughout the recovery process.”

Thad Bell

Lavogez joined the Current in July and quickly demonstrated her value to the team. The French midfielder appeared in 10 matches, starting eight and adding two goals and an assist.

When asked about Lavogez, Current head coach Matt Potter replied, ”Well, I think your first thoughts are always with the player. It’s an unfortunate moment that happens, it’s part of the game nowadays It’s obviously a moment that we’ve had to live earlier in the season, losing a player to injury. So I think what the attitude of the whole group has always been when one player has gone down, somebody stepped forward and I don’t think that’s going to change within the group. Our thoughts are more so about the person of Claire, and she’s impacted since day one. She just now has a different seat in a different role to play moving forward right now.”

It will be tough for Potter to replace Lavogez, there are no like-for-like substitutes. “The same options we’ve been using all year,” Potter explained. “Elyse Bennett has come in and played well. Addie McCain’s played well earlier in the season, Chloe Lagarzo is back in the mix, we can move Alex forward, we can move Halie forward which we’ve done. We’ve got multiple options to try and figure out a way to solve the game. But again, this team has been doing it all season so why would this be any different?”

If you were coach Potter, how would you backfill Lavogez?