Chicago Fire forward Mike Magee, who struggled through a season of of setbacks and false starts, won’t be back at all this year after season-ending surgery on Monday.
The 30-year-old forward, who electrified Fire fans and Major League Soccer with 21 goals in a 32 games in an MVP season in 2013, underwent a procedure to repair an injured right hip.
Surgery to address an injury of the labrum and articular surface damage was performed at Steadman Clinic in Vail, Colo. by Dr. Marc Philippon, the team said in a statement released Tuesday afternoon.
Magee is expected to be out six to eight months, putting his projected return sometime between March and May 2015.
“It’s unfortunate that Mike will be out for an extended period, but he’s been struggling this season with the injuries,” said Fire coach Frank Yallop said in the statement. “After consulting with our medical staff, we decided that this was the best time for Mike to have the procedure.”
Magee had seven goals in 17 games played this season, tied with Quincy Amarikwa for the team lead. He missed two early season games and last appeared on Aug. 16 at Montreal. Magee was plagued by a late arrival in camp which put him behind in conditioning followed by a series of hamstring and other injuries.
Also Tuesday, the team announced it has signed French striker Florent Sinama-Pongolle, who most recently represented Russian Premier League side FC Rostov, where he scored two goals in 18 matches from 2012-14.
The Fire (5-7-14, 29 points) are in ninth place in the MLS Eastern Conference, seven points out of the fifth and final playoff berth with eight regular season games to play. They host Toronto FC on Saturday.