Tim Howard will have surgery, miss MLS Playoffs and USMNT qualifiers

Tim Howard will be out for four months, ruling him out of the Colorado Rapids' MLS Cup Playoffs run. The club confirmed that the goalkeeper would have to undergo surgery on his right adductor, in his upper groin, after suffering an injury in the United States' 2-1 loss to Mexico on Friday.

Howard was hurt while taking a goal kick in the World Cup qualifier. He tried to play on, but eventually relented and was substituted off. Brad Guzan came on for him and Guzan will almost certainly start against Costa Rica in Tuesday's qualifier.

With Howard already ruled out for the match against Costa Rica, the concern turned to his availability for the Rapids, who have a Western Conference final tie against the Seattle Sounders looming. Now we know that he won't be able to play in that tie or in MLS Cup, if the Rapids make it. That's a blow to Colorado's title chances, but not too big. Zac MacMath played very well for the Rapids in the first half of the season and the dropoff from Howard to MacMath is minimal.

The question now becomes when Howard will return. Four months would put him in line for a mid-March return, which would mean he'd miss the start of next MLS season. In addition, he probably won't be available for the Americans' World Cup qualifiers against Honduras and Panama. But it's always possible Howard beats his four-month prognosis, or it could take him even longer.

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