New York City FC defender Drew Baiera will undergo surgery to repair a ruptured anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee, the club announced Thursday.
Baiera, who played limited minutes in three matches this season, suffered the injury during the international break while he was with the U.S. Under-19 Men’s National Team. NYCFC head coach Pascal Jansen had said last week that the defender would be out “for quite some time.”
Jansen also suggested that the injury was severe.
Baiera will have the surgery done “in the coming weeks” at Montefiore Einstein and he will start his rehab immediately after the procedure.
The 19-year-old appeared in 21 minutes across three contests this year for NYCFC.
“Everyone at the Club wishes Drew all the best in his surgery and recovery,” the club said in a statement.
The loss of Baiera for an unspecified amount of time leaves NYCFC with one less defender to come off the bench, specifically to come in for Tayvon Gray.
Jansen did suggest the club had a few options last week when he spoke with reporters.
“We have [Strahinja Tanasijević] who can play there,” the New York City FC coach said. “We’re very fortunate to have a guy like [Tanasijević], because he can play in the middle and on the sides. That is for us the alternative in order to help Tay and have a backup for Tay.”
Kai Trewin was also named as someone who could help fill the gap as well.
Baiera originally joined the club through its academy program and in 2023 became the 12th Homegrown signing in club history.
He’s primarily seen minutes with the club’s second team over the past two seasons before logging minutes in the season opener this year against the LA Galaxy, NYCFC’s win over 2-1 the Philadelphia Union and in the loss to Inter Miami.
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