FC Cincinnati forward Aaron Boupendza is set to miss up to two months’ worth of matches, according to a Wednesday news release from the club, following surgery for a jaw injury sustained off-field, team officials stated in a Wednesday news release.
FCC officials announced Wednesday Boupendza would miss six to eight weeks after he receives surgery on Thursday for a “broken jaw that he suffered in an off-field injury,” per a Wednesday news release.
“The club hopes for his swift and full recovery, and we look forward to having him back on the field as soon as he’s available,” FC Cincinnati officials stated in the news release.
Boupendza was not observed by media members practicing at the Mercy Health Training Center on Tuesday or Wednesday.
Laurel Pfahler of Queen City Press first reported on Boupendza’s injury.
FC Cincinnati’s striker situation
Boupendza, 27, has two goals in 10 league appearances so far in 2024. Including the CONCACAF Champions Cup, Boupendza had four total goals.
Boupendza holds a coveted and valuable designated-player roster designation, meaning he’s one of the club’s top wage-earners and is expected to deliver end product on the level of a star player. For Boupendza, “end product” means goals, but the goals have been too few in 2024.
Even compared to the choppy, early weeks of Boupendza’s time in FC Cincinnati last season, his production was comparatively weak so far this season.
Lately, minutes have dwindled for Boupendza, too, as he came off the bench in the club’s last two matches. The reason for his reduced workload was for on-field related performance, head coach Pat Noonan indicated over multiple news conferences.
Partly, FCC seemed to want to try different combinations of strikers including Boupendza, Corey Baird and Yuya Kubo. But like Baird earlier in the season, Boupendza wasn’t immune to being benched.
In his absence, FC Cincinnati won, 2-1, in consecutive matches.
So, between now and the end of the six-to-eight-week window for Boupendza’s return − that would see him make a return in mid-to-late June − the clubs seems likely to lean heavily on Baird (one goal in 2024), Kubo (three goals in 2024), Sergio Santos (yet to score this year) and the newly-acquired Kevin Kelsy.
Kelsy, 19, officially joined full team training Tuesday after his loan deal to join FCC through at least December was nearing finalization.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati: Aaron Boupendza out 6-8 weeks for broken jaw
