Colorado Rapids team captain Jack Price will miss the the remainder of the season with a ruptured Achilles tendon, the team announced Monday morning.
After coming on as a second-half substitute in Saturday’s loss to Minnesota United in the 68th minute, Price chased after a pass played to his side of the field and went down without contact. He immediately signaled he had to be substituted and was eventually carried off by the team’s medical staff.
Following the game, Price was carted to the locker room where he was taken for further evaluations. A source with knowledge of the situation said that he had a formal scan Sunday which revealed the extent of his injury.
A Rapids spokesperson declined further comment to The Post.
Price has been the club captain since the 2020 season and has been a staple of the club since he first arrived in 2018. The Shrewsbury, England, native has been instrumental in the Rapids’ rise the last few seasons, as his 12 assists in the 2021 season — most of which came off of set pieces — were a significant contribution to their finish atop the Western Conference.
Price stepped onto the field for the first time in 2023 last week in San Jose. He had been dealing with a back injury and had not played in the opening two games of the season.
In his appearance Saturday, he was on the field with Connor Ronan for the first time since 2018 when they both played together with Wolverhampton Wanderers. What was looking to be a fascinating partnership and reunion lasted just 10 minutes by the time Price was subbed off in the 71st minute.
Last year, Price only played 17 games and started 14 of them. Additional injuries forced him to miss sizable portions of game time, which contributed to Colorado missing the playoffs. With Price in the lineup, the Rapids averaged 1.47 points per game, which would have been more than enough to get the team in the postseason, per Burgundy Wave. However, without him, the team put up just 0.93, which would put Colorado near the bottom of MLS.
When asked about Price and what a potential loss would mean in his postgame comments, midfielder Cole Bassett summed up the next-man-up mentality that will have to be with the team moving forward.
“Guys have to step up and we have a big squad for a reason, the coaches wanted that for depth and competition this year. … You never wanna see injuries, but all of us together when we have to step in with some of our big-time players, we have to do it in a better manner,” he said.
On Saturday, the team was already hampered by injuries with six players questionable and two more out. Bassett also added Saturday that the pitch conditions at DSGP were not good.
“I don’t know what it is about the injuries, but the field’s have not been very good,” Bassett said. “I’m not using that as an excuse, but we’ve been training on bad fields and that field tonight was not very good, either. But both teams had to play on it and it’s not an excuse, but guys are getting injured a lot and you do wonder why.”
The Rapids will travel to their next game in Austin, Texas, on Tuesday after practicing at Field 22 at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park. Games without their captain will begin against Austin FC at 6:30 p.m. MST Saturday at Q2 Stadium in the Texas capital city.
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