Soccer notebook: TFC striker out six weeks
Toronto FC striker Jozy Altidore had surgery on his right foot Thursday and his recovery could take up to six weeks.
The team said surgery was carried at the Hospital for Special Surgery in New York. Altidore was in New York to receive a second opinion on what has become a chronic injury and it was decided that he should undergo the procedure immediately.
Altidore was held out of Toronto’s 2-1 loss to the New England Revolution on Saturday after feeling some discomfort in his foot during training. He also missed TFC’s 1-0 loss to Atlanta on Wednesday.
Altidore, in his seventh season with TFC, has two goals in 10 appearances.
Toronto also announced midfielder Ralph Priso will undergo surgery on his right ankle and is expected to miss the remainder of the season.
Priso was injured in the second half of Toronto’s loss to the Revolution.
> Two new events for women: Two major women’s tournaments for teams in North and Central America and the Caribbean will debut over the next three years, the region’s governing body of soccer announced Thursday.
The inaugural CONCACAF W Championship will take place in 2022, and the CONCACAF W Gold Cup will be held in 2024.
The W Championship will serve as the regional qualifier for the FIFA Women’s World Cup in Australia and New Zealand in 2023 and the 2024 Paris Olympics.
The tournament will include reigning Olympic champion Canada and the United States, along with the winners of six qualifying groups.
The winning nation will earn a place in the 2024 Olympics and the 2024 CONCACAF W Gold Cup.
The runner-up and the thirdplace team will progress to an Olympic play-in series to be played in September, 2023. The winner of that series will also guarantee their place in Olympics and the Gold Cup.
The final 10 spots in the Gold Cup will be filled by a qualification process that begins in 2023.
“These new competitions will be game-changing for women’s football in CONCACAF,” Karina LeBlanc, the CONCACAF head of women’s football and a former Canadian national team goalkeeper, said in a media release.
“We are providing a platform for women footballers in CONCACAF to thrive, and for women and girls throughout the region to support their national teams with pride.”