Atletico Ottawa’s Brandon John Suffers Season-Ending Injury

Canadian Premier League side Atletico Ottawa has confirmed that defender Brandon John will miss the remainder of the season after sustaining a midweek injury against Valour FC.

The 26-year-old defender had gone down with via non-contact injury in the 24th minute, with the medical team now diagnosing the defender with a torn ACL. John is now set to return to Ottawa to receive treatment and begin his rehabilitation process at the Carleton Sport Medicine Clinic and with the club’s partners at the Ottawa Physiotherapy and Sports Clinic.

Our hearts go out to Brandon. He has been a valuable member of this team and we will miss his leadership dearly. On behalf of the entire Atleti family, we extend our best wishes for a speedy recovery and thank Brandon for his contribution to our club. We look forward to seeing him back healthy.

Atletico Ottawa CEO Fernando Lopez

The centre-back had made five appearances for Atletico Ottawa in the Winnipeg-based bubble, none of which had come in the shape of a full ninety minute outing. The bubble has proven to be a tough experience for Atletico Ottawa, with the club resting in fifth place after two wins, one draw, and four losses.

John initially joined the side ahead of last year’s Island Games tournament, with the former Seattle Sounders and Orlando City reserve having played nearly every possible minute for the expansion side last year before injuries have now curtailed his 2021 season.

He had initially looked at joining the league in 2019, but a potential move in the inaugural season was sidelined by an ACL injury while he was with the SIMA Aguilas. John is the third CPL athlete to pick up a season-ending injury this year, with both Elijah Adekugbe and Duran Lee expected to be out for the full season as well.

With fixtures coming in thick, fast, on turf, and in hot conditions throughout the bubbled segment of the season, players are growing increasing vocal about the importance of unionization within the league:

Atletico Ottawa now finds itself stretched at the back, with centre-backs Drew Beckie, Milovan Kapor, and CF Montreal loanee Keesean Ferdinand the only naturals in that position. Other CPL clubs like York United have had similar issues after mounting injuries in Winnipeg.

Ottawa has also been without Ryan Telfer for the majority of the bubble due to the 2021 Gold Cup, with veteran winger Jordan Webb also absent for the side’s time in Winnipeg.

The club has one last match to play in the Winnipeg bubble before each CPL side will return to home markets, with Atletico Ottawa’s inaugural home match set for August 14 against the Halifax Wanderers.