Midfielder Russell Canouse just returned from an MCL sprain that grounded him for three matches.

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United officials did not want to comment on injuries until the team returned to work Tuesday. The players were off Sunday and Monday.

Pines — a 6-foot-5 homegrown signing who anchored the University of Maryland’s NCAA championship team in December — began the season with second-division Loudoun United. Amid D.C.'s injury issues, though, he was thrust into MLS action April 13 with a starting assignment at Colorado. He subsequently started three of the next four matches.

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His performances have drawn rave reviews from the organization, which did not expect him to begin contributing to the first team until perhaps this summer.

“He is doing quite well,” Coach Ben Olsen said after a 3-1 victory over the Columbus Crew on Saturday at Audi Field. “I thought he had a great game. He is becoming a little bit of a cult hero out there. He bails us out with his legs and his ability to read the game — he does it five times a half. He is going to be a good player for this team for years to come.”

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Pines, 21, has been part of a new defensive alignment featuring three center backs; veterans Steve Birnbaum and Frederic Brillant have started on either side of him.

After Saturday’s match, and before the knee injury was diagnosed, Pines said: “I just love learning — learning from the center backs on this team, all the guys in the back. They’ve just taken me under their wing, and they’re helping me out. It’s just been really a blessing to play with them, and I just want to do the best I can for the team and for the players around me.”

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Pines’s injury, coupled with the arrival of left back Marquinhos Pedroso from FC Dallas, will probably prompt Olsen to return to the original formation of four defenders: Birnbaum and Brillant in the middle, Leonardo Jara on the right and probably Pedroso on the left.

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If Olsen opts to remain in the current shape, Jalen Robinson (four appearances, one start) could end up replacing Pines.

The timing of Pines’s injury is not great for United, which will play six matches over three weeks, starting Sunday against Sporting Kansas City at Audi Field.

United (6-3-2) is tied with Philadelphia (6-3-2) atop the Eastern Conference but trails the Union on goal differential.