Levi Houapeu Placed On Season Ending Injury List

The Philadelphia Union have placed attacking midfielder Levi Houapeu on the Season Ending Injury list, according to roster information the Brotherly Game received from a league source.

While Houapeu's salary still needs to be paid by the Union, his international roster spot is opened up because of his new designation. The 23-year-old Houapeu has suffered from a multitude of injuries this season, most severe of which has been a sprained ankle.

The following paragraph from the 2011 MLS Roster Rules is what Houapeu now falls under:

A team with a player lost to a season-ending injury can replace that player on its roster, while remaining responsible for the full amount of the injured player's salary. A player can be placed on the season-ending injury list once another player has been signed as a replacement (provided the team has budget space). International player limits still apply at the time a season-ending replacement is made (with the player being replaced not counting against those limits).

Placing Houapeu on the list allowed the Union to sign defender Joe Tait, who required an international player slot himself, as a replacement player.