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It appears the emergence of RSL defender Chris Schuler will be put on hold, as the rookie suffered a broken right foot during Wednesday’s training session in Toronto. The preliminary timeline for recovery for the ex-Creighton Bluejay is 12 weeks, which would mean Schuler’s first professional campaign is now officially in the books. Schuler suffered the non-contact injury on Wednesday during RSL’s practice on the artificial turf field at Toronto’s Cherry Beach lakefront facility, bringing a halt to what had been a standout month for the first-year player.
Schuler was used sparingly across the first five months of RSL’s season, having played in only three contests – exhibitions against the Mexican U-21 National Team (May 15) and Costa Rica’s Puntarenas FC (June 19) and a U.S. Open Cup qualifier at D.C. United (June 2) – through August as he adapted to the professional speed of play. The 23-year-old’s breakout performance came on Sept. 9 at Seattle, when he played a fantastic 90 minutes in place of a suspended Jamison Olave to help RSL hold the Sounders to a 0-0 draw … an even more impressive performance when considering his first MLS start came in the cauldron of 35,000 fans that is Qwest Field. Schuler would get another starting nod in CONCACAF Champions League play eight days ago at Arabe Unido in RSL’s 3-2 win, it’s first-ever on foreign soil.
