COLUMBUS – The Columbus Crew today announced a pair of roster moves surrounding surgeries to defender Josh Williams and midfielder Kingsley “Fifi” Baiden.
Williams underwent a thoracic outlet procedure on Wednesday, July 16 to remove the first rib. The successful procedure was done due to compression on the vein that was causing clotting problems. Performed by vascular surgeon Dr. Patrick Vaccaro in Columbus, Williams was discharged today and is home recovering.
The Crew defender is expected to be re-assessed after approximately two months’ time. As such, Williams has been placed on the disabled list and will miss a League minimum of six matches.
The Crew also announced that Kingsley “Fifi” Baiden is expected to have surgery next Wednesday, July 23. Baiden is undergoing an arthroscopic hip procedure on his left hip to fix an impingement and a labral tear. The procedure is set to be performed by Dr. Thomas Byrd in Nashville, Tennessee.
The recovery time for a surgery of this nature is approximately six months. Baiden has been placed on the season-ending injured reserve list and will be out for the remainder of 2014.
“We are pleased to hear that Josh’s surgery was a success and we’ll look to re-evaluate his status in two months,” said Sporting Director and Head Coach Gregg Berhalter. “Fifi is having a procedure to alleviate his recent hip issue and we know he’ll spend the next six months working hard to recover. While we’re disappointed to lose both players for the time being, we look forward to their return and will be supporting them throughout their recovery.”
The Crew continues a stretch of three home matches in eight days with a contest against the Montreal Impact on Saturday, July 19 (7:30 p.m. ET / Time Warner Cable SportsChannel).
