Michael Bradley Needs Ankle Surgery for Injury in MLS Cup, Could Miss 4 Months

The Toronto FC and U.S. men's national team veteran was evidently hurt in MLS Cup but didn't have a procedure for over two months.

Toronto FC will be feeling the aftereffects of defeat in MLS Cup well into the 2020 season.

Captain Michael Bradley evidently suffered a "very severe and complicate" right ankle injury in the Nov. 10 title match and two months later will be undergoing surgery Tuesday that will rule him out for up to four months, club general manager Ali Curtis told reporters.

"We are going to be careful and cautious about this," Curtis said. "But we're confident that once he has the surgery that he'll be able to return to play. It'll take probably approximately four months. Now that could be shorter or it could be lengthier depending on how we manage that process."

It's unclear at what point in the 3-1 loss to the Seattle Sounders Bradley was injured and what the specific nature of the injury is. He played the entire 90 minutes in a game where a win was reportedly going to trigger an option that extended his otherwise-expiring contract for a year at the $6.5 million rate he was previously paid. He instead re-signed with the club last month on a lower deal that was covered with Targeted Allocation Money.

The biggest question that emanates from this is why Bradley and Toronto waited so long after MLS Cup to have surgery. According to The Athletic's Joshua Kloke, Curtis said TFC thought the injury could be managed with rehab and that surgery was a last resort. If it were conducted immediately and the four-month timetable held, he would have only missed a few weeks of the regular season. Now, he stands to miss multiple months of it.

The handling of the injury has come under fire for one of Bradley's longstanding teammates and friends, with Jozy Altidore not mincing words when it comes to his feelings on how things played out. He's previously criticized the club publicly after one of his injuries, saying that the trainer who he depended on and had departed the club upon Sebastian Giovinco's exit was ousted over ego. He spoke clearly and loudly again on Monday.

"Make no mistake, in my opinion, for me, it was handled poorly," Altidore told reporters. "This was an injury from two months ago and it's not the first time this has happened (at the club)."

The injury also figures to keep Bradley out of the U.S. men's national team's friendlies vs. Wales and the Netherlands in late March–and even calls into question his potential availability for the Concacaf Nations League final four in June.