Canadian international Luc de Fougerolles suffered an apparent lower-body injury Thursday and subbed off shortly after scoring for Real Salt Lake in a 1-1 draw against the San Jose Earthquake.
De Fougerolles’ first MLS goal opened the scoring in the 79th minute, but he was taken off just three minutes later and head coach Pablo Mastroeni said he needed help reaching the locker room.
Mastroeni was effusive in his praise for de Fougerolles, who only joined the team on loan from Fulham last month, as he appeared fearful the 21-year-old will miss significant time.
“We don’t know the extent of it,” Mastroeni said. “It doesn’t look good... I don’t want to overreact to this moment but he needed help getting to the locker room.
“What he’s brought to this team in just a short time has been transformational. This is the player that we’ve been starving for. Who comes in and just brings his lunch pail and is as brave as anyone, both in the attack and the defence, is not scared to rough it up with teammates and it’s influenced quite a few of the guys. It’s almost changed our identity in two games.
“Fingers crossed he recovers quick and it’s just a cramp, but we’ll see.”
Injuries piling up for Canada’s Men’s National Team
The injury could be another significant blow to Canada’s men’s national team, which has seen its backline decimated by injuries with a two-game Concacaf Nations League quarter-final looming next month.
Defenders Derek Cornelius, Moise Bombito, Alistair Johnston, and Alfie Jones are all currently sidelined by injuries with their clubs, while winger Tajon Buchanan is also out.
De Fougerolles, who has a goal and an assist in two games with Real Salt Lake, appeared in all five Canada’s games at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
He spent last season with FC Dender in Belgium, appearing in 30 games across all competitions.
A native of London, de Fougerolles was eligible to play for Canada through his Canadian father.