The Portland Timbers have renegotiated the terms of their deal to acquire Aljaz Ivacic from Slovenian PrvaLiga side NK Olimpija Ljubljana after determining that the 25-year-old goalkeeper would need corrective surgery on his leg.

The Timbers discovered that Ivacic would require surgery on his leg during the goalkeeper’s physical with the club. Ivacic will undergo surgery later this week and is expected to be able to return to play in 6-8 weeks.

Portland is expected to save around $200,000 on the transfer fee due to the renegotiated terms of their deal with NK Olimpija Ljubljana.

While the surprise surgery is certainly a setback for Ivacic, the young goalkeeper wasn’t expected to step into an immediate starting role for the Timbers. Goalkeeper Jeff Attinella is coming off a big year in the net and should enter the season as Portland’s starter. The Timbers acquired Ivacic in hopes that the young goalkeeper could compete for playing time this season while giving the club another option at the position in the long-term.

The Oregonian/OregonLive’s Jamie Goldberg and Timbers.com’s Richard Farley first discussed the news of Ivacic’s injury on this week’s episode of Soccer Made in Portland.

-- Jamie Goldberg | jgoldberg@oregonian.com

503-853-3761 | @jamiebgoldberg

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