Columbus Crew SC defender Alex Crognale has sports hernia surgery

Columbus Crew SC announced on Thursday that defender Alex Crognale underwent successful sports hernia surgery and will be out six to eight weeks. The rookie traveled to Mequon, Wisconsin to have the surgery performed by Dr. Richard Cattey, who also did the procedure on Federico Higuain last season and Niko Hansen earlier this year.

Crognale has made 17 appearances, 12 starts, in his debut season as a Homegrown player for the Black & Gold and recorded one assist.

Given the timeframe put on the defender’s recovery, Crognale could be back anywhere between the middle and end of November. This effectively rules Crognale out for the year unless Crew SC makes a deep playoff run.

Even in that case, it would be hard to imagine head coach Gregg Berhalter using a player who has missed over a month of play in such important games in the postseason.