The Galaxy confirmed Saturday they will be without Riqui Puig for a second straight season after the midfielder underwent a second surgery to repair the torn ACL that caused him to miss all of 2025.
Puig was operated on by Dr. Ramón Cugat on Saturday in Barcelona, where he sustained a setback in rehab from his first surgery 13 months ago.
“Puig is expected to make a full recovery and be ready to rejoin the team for the start of the 2027 MLS season,” the team said in a statement.
Puig, 26, tore the ligament in his left knee in the 2024 MLS Western Conference final with Seattle. A week later the Galaxy won their sixth league title. But playing without Puig in 2025, the team stumbled through the worst season in franchise history, winning just seven games.
Although reconstructive ACL surgery is fairly common among athletes, the recovery process can be fraught. Christen Press, a two-time World Cup champion, tore the ligament in her right knee eight games into her first season with Angel City and needed four surgeries to repair the damage. She started just three more matches over the next 3½ seasons before retiring.
Puig had career highs for goals (13) and assists (15) in 2024, when he also led the league in touches and passes, helping the Galaxy set an MLS record with four players scoring 10 or more times. Without him, the team’s possession-based attack suffered, scoring 23 fewer goals and seeing just one player, winger Joseph Paintsil, reach double figures in scoring.
The Galaxy did not place Puig on the season-ending injury list last season, hoping he would return at some point. It’s unlikely the team would make the same mistake since shelving Puig would open up a designated-play spot. Puig, who made $5.78 million last season, the eighth-largest contract in MLS, is signed through 2027.
Before the Puig news the Galaxy had enjoyed a productive offseason, acquiring Jakob Glesnes, a former MLS defender of the year, in a trade with the Philadelphia Union and signing defender Justin Haak to a free-agent contract.