RAPIDS FORWARD JOHN SPENCER UNDERGOES SUCCESSFUL KNEE SURGERY TO REPAIR TORN MENISCUS

Captain to Miss Next 2-3 Games for Western Conference Leader

DENVER (Thursday, May 23, 2002) - Rapids forward and captain John Spencer had surgery on Thursday to repair a damaged left knee which was aggravated on Tuesday during team training, prior to last night's 5-2 victory over the New England Revolution at INVESCO Field. The procedure was performed by Colorado Rapids' team physician Dr. Wayne Gersoff at the Rose Medical Center outpatient facility in Denver. The half-hour standard scope procedure successfully removed a small piece of the damaged meniscus, acting to relieve irritation and swelling. The somewhat chronic injury had been bothering the Scottish international for an unspecified amount of time.

At this point, Spencer is expected to miss 3-4 weeks, including the June 1 game versus Western Conference rival Los Angeles Galaxy, June 8 against the Dallas Burn at the Cotton Bowl and will hope to return to the lineup as early as June 15 when the Rapids take on the New England Revolution at INVESCO Field.

"With a ten day break before we play the Galaxy, we decided that now was the best time to go in and take care of the damage that was there," said Rapids General Manager Dan Counce.

Of the five total matches between Colorado and Los Angeles since Spencer joined the Rapids in 2001, he has only appeared twice, scoring in each contest - including the game winner on April 27 at the Rose Bowl.

Rapids' head athletic trainer, Theron Enns, along with Gersoff, stated that the injury was not as bad as initially thought and were happy with the results of the procedure.

Spencer, a 2001 Discovery pick from Scotland, set a single-season franchise scoring record last year with 14 goals, 7 assists and is currently second in that category with 4 goals, 3 assists after nine games in 2002. The injury sidelined the Rapids captain during Wednesday night's league-leading fifth win as he headed into the match on a three game scoring streak.

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