Surgery Not Needed For Former Philadelphia Union Striker Carlos Ruiz

Tiburones Rojos de Veracruz doctors have given former Philadelphia Union striker Carlos Ruiz good news about his cracked ankle, informing the Guatemalan that he does not need surgery.

Reports out of Mexico originally stated that the 31-year-old would most likely be looking at surgery and a time table that involved a four week return to soccer at the earliest. The initial fear in Veracruz was that the forward would have miss up to two months because of the surgery, which would have repaired a small crack in Ruiz's ankle.

Ruiz's injury prevented him from joining Guatemala for the country's first CONCACAF 2014 World Cup Qualifying matches. His absence didn't hurt Guatemala's point total after two qualifiers (the full six points possible), but Ruiz's loss was noticeable in the country's eeked out 2-1 win over Belize.

Since joining the Red Sharks in August, after signing with the Union in February and playing in MLS up until his transfer, Ruiz has scored once in three league games.