Duran Lee Sidelined For 2021 CPL Season

New Pacific FC signing Duran Lee has suffered a ruptured Achilles tendon and will miss the 2021 Canadian Premier League season as a result.

The 25-year-old defender had become the first Canadian Premier League athlete to sign for three different teams in the burgeoning league, having signed for Pacific FC just a month ago after having played for both FC Edmonton and the Halifax Wanderers.

The six-foot-two athlete has made ten Canadian Premier League appearances overall, eight of which came for the Halifax Wanderers following his mid-season arrival from Vaughan Azzurri in 2019, and two of which came for the Eddies at The Island Games last year. He played in both centre-back and left-back positions.

He becomes the second Canadian Premier League athlete to miss out on the upcoming season following a preseason injury, with Cavalry FC’s Elijah Adekugbe having been ruled out for the season earlier this month. It is believed Lee’s injury took place in late March.

This won’t be the first time that Pacific FC finds itself down a left-back via long-term injury, with former club captain Marcel de Jong having missed most of the club’s inaugural campaign through an Achilles injury too.

That leaves Pacific FC with 20 players on the roster for the upcoming Canadian Premier League season, with Lee now sidelined for the long term and young goalkeeper Emil Gazdov out on a loan with FC Nurnberg.

While the club reinforced its attack with today’s announcement of Ollie Bassett, the side had previously brought in numbers for its defensive line with the intra-league additions of Lee and Dada-Luke.

The squad is currently in the midst of preseason training, and had a preseason scrimmage against the Vancouver Whitecaps in late March. It is unclear if Lee’s injury stems from that time.

We wish Duran Lee all the best in his recovery.