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SEATTLE - Seattle Sounders scoring leader David Estrada could be out of action for up to three months with a broken bone in his left foot, the club said, possibly making him unavailable for as much as the first half of the CONCACAF Champions League Group Stage.
The 24-year-old American, whose five goals in 13 games have helped Seattle to the sixth-best record in U.S. Major League Soccer, was injured during an 11-on-11 intra-squad scrimmage in training on Tuesday, the club said on its website.
He will require surgery and miss eight-to-12 weeks, it said.
"He's had a great impact on us this year," Seattle manager Sigi Schmid said. "He always gives you that tremendous work rate when he's on the field and we're certainly going to miss that until he gets back. We have our fingers crossed that he'll be back sooner."
Estrada scored one goal in Seattle's 2-1 win over Mexican league champion Santos in the first leg of the Champions League quarterfinals in March.
Next season's Champions League begins July 31. Seattle will face Marathon of Honduras and the Caribbean club champion in Group 4.
Seattle also has suffered injuries this season to goalkeeper Michael Gspurning, defenders Patrick Ianni, Leo Gonzalez and Adam Johansson, and midfielders Steve Zakuani, Alvaro Fernandez and Mauro Rosales.
