LA Galaxy's Riqui Puig set for knee surgery
Puig's status for 2026 is in question, sources briefed on the situation have told The Athletic.
LA Galaxy star Riqui Puig will undergo knee surgery and his status for 2026 is in question, sources briefed on the situation have told The Athletic.
The procedure is on the same knee that Puig had surgery on at the end of 2024 to repair a torn anterior cruciate ligament (ACL). Puig subsequently missed the entire 2025 season and has not featured for the Galaxy since November 2024.
If doctors determine that Puig is expected to miss the whole 2026 season, the Galaxy would likely place him on the season-ending injured list. That would open a valuable designated player slot for the team to use.
Puig, 26, tore his ACL in the 2024 Western Conference final against Seattle Sounders and initially continued playing, even assisting the game’s only goal. The Galaxy went on to win MLS Cup.
The Galaxy didn’t place Puig on the season-ending injured list last year as the initial plan was for him to return in the fall for the end of the season. The Galaxy’s season got off to a bad start and, by the time Puig may have been ready to come back, the team had already been eliminated from playoff contention.
The Galaxy has had a strong offseason to strengthen the squad, adding former MLS Defender of the Year Jakob Glesnes in a trade with the Philadelphia Union then signed Justin Haak, one of the league’s marquee free agents.
Puig is a product of Barcelona’s famed La Masia academy and arrived in MLS with the Galaxy in 2022.
What does Puig’s surgery mean for the Galaxy?
This is brutal, brutal news for one of the league’s best players.
Puig’s importance to the Galaxy cannot be overstated. Not just his individual quality, but Puig’s heliocentricity in the team’s possession-based system in their MLS Cup-winning 2024 season was unlike anything else in the league.
Puig led the league in touches and passes, as he was both the metronome deep in possession as well as someone driving goals and assists in the final third.
Puig had 13 goals and 15 assists in 29 regular season appearances in 2024, then four goals and three assists in just 358 playoff minutes.