Chris Tierney sidelined with torn ACL - Will Revs make a move to fortify the backline?

Revolution defender Chris Tierney has been placed on the season-ending injury list after he was diagnosed with a torn right anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) Friday.

Tierney suffered the non-contact injury late in the first half of Wednesday night’s 1-1 draw against Atlanta United FC. He had landed awkwardly to avoid a collision with Five Stripes attacker Ezequiel Barco, and was subsequently helped off the pitch.

Gabriel Somi replaced him in the lineup.

A Wellesley native, Tierney, 32, is an 11-year veteran of Major League Soccer and is expected to undergo surgery within the next couple of weeks. The Revolution noted in a press release that the recovery time is expected to last nine months.

BSJ analysis

Not the news any Revs supporter wants to hear, especially with the condition the left side of the defense is in. But after team president Brian Bilello tweeted that it didn’t look good for Tierney, and as manager Brad Friedel said the same thing post-match Wednesday night, this was the absolute worst-case scenario.

The injury leaves Somi as the lone left back on the active roster, with four centerbacks in Claude Dielna, Jalil Anibaba, Antonio Delamea, and fourth-round draft choice Nico Samayoa, who’s currently on the reserve roster. Usual right back Andrew Farrell played 90 minutes at centerback on Wednesday, and Brandon Bye can move into the right back slot, too.

Friedel noted a couple of weeks ago that with the injury to Juan Agudelo, he had a number of options to play in the top half of the alignment. The question that should be on everyone’s lips right now is who would play left back should Somi go down with an injury over the next six-and-a-half weeks.

It’s really an answer no one wants to know, at least right now, unless you enjoy out of position football.

If anything, Tierney’s injury should force New England to make a play for defensive reinforcements — left back being absolutely imperative, at least in my eyes — during the upcoming secondary transfer window, which opens in about 40 days from now. The Revs will play six and potentially seven matches between now and the opening of the window, starting with Saturday’s Eastern Conference tilt against the Red Bulls, along with at least one US Open Cup match (this Tuesday).