Malachi Jones will not be on the pitch anytime soon for New York City FC.
The club announced Tuesday that the 21-year-old forward underwent another procedure to repair the right tibia fracture he sustained last year after colliding with Orlando City’s goalkeeper last June 28.
Jones, who had surgery on Monday at the Fortius Clinic in London, will begin his rehab at City Football Academy in Manchester — the home base of NYCFC’s parent organization City Football Group — and will return to New York to complete his rehab at a later date.
Questions surrounding Jones’ status popped up last week during head coach Pascal Jansen’s weekly press conference and the new coach told reporters that Jones was “not going to return for a while.”
“We’ll just have to be very patient before we can see Maley back on the pitch, unfortunately,” Jansen said at the time.
In a Tuesday statement, NYCFC sporting director David Lee said that the club feels for the 21-year-old and “concluded that it was best to undergo surgery at this point to help him return to full health.”
“Our priority is to support Malachi in every way possible throughout his rehabilitation process and we look forward to welcoming Malachi back as he continues his recovery alongside the team,” Lee added.
Jones was taken eighth overall in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft and quickly made a name for himself through his first 14 appearances — four of which were starts.
The native of Sierra Leone and Lipscomb University product recorded a goal and four assists for New York City FC, creating a buzz before he suffered the injury.
Jones and Orlando City keeper Mason Stajduhar collided in the first half of the June 28 match, which resulted in both players needing surgery.
Jones did not play the rest of the 2024 season.
In an interview with Sports360AZ in February, Jones said that “faith, family and dedication” helped him get through the challenges of the initial injury.
NYCFC has won their last two matches and is now 2-1-1.