Sports stats



NASL Indy Eleven

Indy Eleven Midfielder Kleberson Sidelined with Achilles Injury

May 13, 2015 - North American Soccer League (NASL)
Indy Eleven News Release


INDIANAPOLIS (Wednesday, May 13, 2015) - Indy Eleven Professional Soccer today announced midfielder Kleberson will miss an indefinite amount of action after suffering a torn right Achilles tendon during the team's training session on Tuesday.

A prognosis for the Brazilian 2002 World Cup champion will not be made until after his surgery. The surgery to repair the injury is scheduled for early next week.

"On behalf of the Indy Eleven organization, our heart goes out to Kleberson, who had put so much time and energy into returning to the field," said Indy Eleven president and general manager Peter Wilt. "At the moment the club's primary concern for Kleberson is seeing that his surgery next week is a success, after which Community Health Network's athletic training and physical therapy team will initiate his rehabilitation."

The 35-year-old midfielder had been away from the training field for most of 2015 due to the flare up of a recurring left hamstring injury that resurfaced during the team's preseason in February. Kleberson had improved enough to make an appearance on the team's 18-man gameday roster for its home opener against the New York Cosmos on April 11, but had been ruled out of action since then while continuing to rehab the injured hamstring.

"We're greatly disappointed for Kleberson both as a player and as a person because he put in a great amount of blood, sweat and tears in trying to contribute to this squad," said Indy Eleven head coach and director of soccer operations Juergen Sommer. "We'll do our best to lift Kleb's spirits and assist him during his rehabilitation and look forward to him doing the same for us."

After joining Indy Eleven on the cusp of Indy's inaugural 2014 season, Kleberson led the "Boys in Blue" in scoring last season with eight goals in 20 NASL regular season appearances (17 starts).

Prior to joining Indy Eleven, the veteran midfielder plied his trade for 15 seasons across Europe and the Americas, most notably for legendary English Premier League side Manchester United; Turkish giant Besiktas; and Flamengo, Bahia and Atletico Paranaense in his native Brazil. Among his 32 senior international appearances for the Brazilian National Team was a five-game stint in the 2002 FIFA World Cup that thrust him into the global spotlight, culminating with an assist on Ronaldo's second goal in Brazil's 2-0 World Cup Final triumph over Germany. Before joining Indy Eleven, he spent the 2013 season with Major League Soccer's Philadelphia Union.

Kleberson has issued the following statement:

"Firstly, I want to offer my sincere regrets to the Indy Eleven organization and technical staff, to my teammates and especially to the team's fans. I have been working very hard over these last couple of months to recover from an unrelated injury, and yesterday was my first return to the practice field after a long period of being out. I had overcome my pain and was feeling confident, happy and eager to return to play soon, as early as this Saturday. Training was going well when, surprisingly, I heard a pop from the Achilles tendon, a serious injury which unfairly I could not prevent.

"I had many good plans for myself alongside the team this year, but unfortunately the body often does not respond as we would like. I cannot express how much it saddens and disappoints me to not meet these expectations. Indy Eleven and its fans did not deserve this ..." my goal has always been to repay all the love and trust I received here from day one.

"We have created a very large and beautiful family within the team this season, and nothing will shake us. I firmly believe in the coaching staff and in my teammates and will be cheering them on as I work to get back to the field of play."

Indy Eleven will resume its 2015 NASL Spring Season slate this Saturday, May 16, when the "Boys in Blue" play host to Minnesota United FC at IUPUI's Carroll Stadium for a 7:30 p.m. ET kickoff. Tickets for Saturday's Military Appreciation Night at "The Mike" remain available and can be purchased at www.IndyEleven.com and by phone at 317-685-1100 (Mon.-Fri., 9:00 am-5:00 pm).

Check out the Indy Eleven Statistics



North American Soccer League Stories from May 13, 2015


The opinions expressed in this release are those of the organization issuing it, and do not necessarily reflect the thoughts or opinions of OurSports Central or its staff.

OurSports Central