RSL's Ricardo Velazco out for four months after ankle surgery

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Real Salt Lake forward Ricardo Velazco will miss the rest of the MLS regular season as the most recent RSL player to undergo surgery.

The 24-year-old homegrown player underwent successful surgery Thursday to repair a high right ankle sprain suffered in training on Tuesday. Team orthopedic surgeon Dr. Andrew Cooper performed the operation at Salt Lake Regional Medical Center.

"Ricardo's surgery went great," Cooper said in a team release. "We stabilized his ankle and anticipate that he should make a full recovery."

Velazco is expected to be out for four months. He is one of three RSL players to sprain an ankle in the past two weeks.

The former Louisville Cardinal was the first player to work his way up from the RSL-Arizona Academy to the Real Monarchs, then to RSL. He spent two seasons in the USL, during which time he logged 10 goals and nine assists. He was called up to RSL in 2016 and has since made nine MLS appearances.

Including Velazco, RSL carries eight Academy products on its roster.

mlee@sltrib.com

Twitter: @maddie_m_lee