The Los Angeles Football Club (LAFC) announced today that midfielder Erik Dueñas suffered a tear of his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) and Medial Collateral Ligament (MCL) against Phoenix Rising on Aug. 7, 2021 while on loan with the Las Vegas Lights of the USL. Dueñas will require surgery will miss the remainder of the MLS season.
Prior to his injury, Dueñas,16, had appeared in six matches on loan with Las Vegas, playing 224 minutes. Sidelined by an ankle injury earlier in the season, Dueñas saw his first action of the season in a 2-1 Vegas win over the Oakland Roots on July 10.
A product of LAFC’s youth academy and one of the Club’s first Homegrown Players, Dueñas made his professional debut for the Black & Gold on Oct. 14, 2020, becoming the youngest player in LAFC history and the third-youngest player in MLS history when he took the field at 15 years, 362 days old. Dueñas appeared in two MLS games in 2020.
