Just over a week after his return was hailed by the home crowd at RFK Stadium, D.C. United midfielder Ben Olsen underwent further surgery on his left ankle Monday, reports Paul Tenorio. According to team spokesman Doug Hicks, the surgery was “to try to help the healing process. This is not expected to end his season.”
Olsen experienced ongoing pain in both ankles following the initial surgery last November, but then surprised fans by making his season debut in United’s 4-1 win over L.A. on June 29. Just a few weeks earlier, there had been talk that his playing career was possibly over for good.
“It wasn’t great,” he conceded after the game, where he came on as a substitute for the final 15 minutes. “I was like a wounded animal out there.” Hicks said that Olsen, 31, had practiced in the week up to the Galaxy game and used his appearance to see if he could play through the pain, but the discomfort had turned out to be “substantial.”