Earthquakes lose Mehdi Ballouchy for year with ACL injury

The San Jose Earthquakes lost midfielder Mehdi Ballouchy for the year after he tore his ACL against FC Dallas on Saturday night, according to Elliot Almond of the San Jose Mercury News.

Ballouchy came to the Earthquakes at the end of July in a trade with the New York Red Bulls to boost up midfield depth and strength as the Earthquakes began to prepare for a playoff run.

He suffered the injury in the 51st minute after awkwardly kicking at a ball and landing hard on the ground. Ballouchy will undergo surgery this week.

The Earthquakes are sitting at the top of the Western Conference Table with 61 points overall and are almost all but assured to retain that spot, barring an end-of-season meltdown. But the midfield that Ballouchy came in to bolster was already feeling the hurt.

Starting midfielder Marvin Chavez has a left hamstring strain and starting left midfielder Simon Dawkins is recovering from an ankle sprain. Winger Shea Salinas has just returned after missing the past six games with a hamstring strain.