Richy Ledezma assisted twice in his USMNT debeut. (Photo courtesyy of PSV)
Richy Ledezma is finished for the 2020-21 season.
The U.S. men’s national team midfielder suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during PSV’s 4-0 home win over Omonia Nicosia in the UEFA Europa Cup Thursday.
Ledezma is expected to be sidelined eight to nine months.
He was taken off the field on a stretcher in the 17th minute when he tried to win possession of the ball in the midfield.
As a second-half substitute in his international debut during the USMNT’s 6-2 friendly victory Panama Nov. 16, Ledezma assisted on two games in an eight-minute span by Sebastian Soto. He set Soto in the 83rd minute and a minute into stoppage time.
Ledezma replaced Gio Reyna in the 68th minute.
The pair were teammates for the U.S. at the 2019 Under-20 World Cup, where Ledezma assisted on Soto’s opening goal vs. France during the USA’s upset win in the Round of 16. They also played together at Real Salt Lake in the U.S. Soccer Development Academy.
Ledezma didn’t waste any time making an impact in his PSV Eindhoven debut on Sunday, Oct. 31. Only 10 minutes after coming on, the midfielder assisted on Ryan Thomas’ goal in the 84th minute of his side’s 4-0 home win over Ado Den Haag. Ledezma replaced Mauro Junior in the 74th minute for PSV in the Dutch Eredivisie.
Born in Phoenix, Ariz. Ledezma was named the U.S. Soccer Development Academy Western Conference U-18/19 player of the year for the 2017-18 season while staring for the RSL Academy.
The year 2018 turned out to be a memorable one for the 5-6, 140-lb. Ledezma. He turned pro, playing five matches and scoring once for the Real Monarchs. He later signed with PSV Eindhoven that year, playing 29 matches and scoring six goals for Jong PSV, its reserve team.
In his debut for the U.S. U-20 men’s national team in 2018, he scored the lone goal in a 1-0 win over France. He also registered an assist, setting up Sebastian Soto in the 3-2 upset of the French in the Round of 16 at the 2019 FIFA U-20 World Cup. The 5-6, 140-lb. Ledezma was selected to the U.S. U-23 roster for the 2020 Concacaf Olympic Qualifying Championship in March before the COVID-19 pandemic shutdown international soccer in January.
