D.C. United announced Friday afternoon that versatile defender Nick DeLeon, who has missed the past three games, will miss another six weeks after having surgery to fix a bilateral sports hernia. The recovery from surgery will sideline DeLeon until at least the end of June.
DeLeon first picked up the injury on April 15 in the 2-0 loss to the New York Red Bulls. Shortly after the start of the second half, when United gave up the game winning goal, DeLeon was removed from the game, with both DeLeon himself, and head coach Ben Olsen citing tightness in DeLeon’s groin that the team didn’t want to take a chance with.
However, further tests revealed that DeLeon in fact had a sports hernia. He has not been practicing with the team, and has missed games against the New England Revolution, Atlanta United, and the Montreal Impact. Before that, DeLeon had started the first six games of the season for the Black-and-Red. In the first five games, DeLeon was used a right back, the position he moved to this offseason. In the game against the Red Bulls, DeLeon was deployed as a wide midfielder, with Patrick Nyarko absent with his own injury.
With a six week timeline, DeLeon’s return at the end of June could mean that he misses United’s next eight league games.