The feel good story of the San Francisco Deltas pre-season, unfortunately, didn’t have a happy ending. At least for this year.

Richmond, California native Saalih Muhammad, one of four players invited to training camp after the SF Deltas open tryout in November, tore his Achilles tendon during a routine workout on Saturday morning, just hours before the SF Deltas first home game ever at Kezar Stadium.

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Muhammad, who had trained overseas as a teenager for the Croatian Dinamo Zagreb development academy, made his way onto the roster in the pre-season and earned his first professional contract for the team’s inaugural season. He appeared in all five pre-season games for the Deltas and was expected to be a slotted in as a substitute providing an offensive punch for the midfield off the bench.

“We spoke with Saalih, and he understands that the club will be here to support him, to help him, and be one-hundred percent beside him through the recovery process at this moment of his career,” said head coach Marc Dos Santos. “We’re heartbroken for Saalih because we know how hard he has worked to reach this point.”

Team orthopedic surgeon Christina Allen will repair the tendon this week at UCSF. The typical recovery time for an Achilles injury is 9-12 months, ruling Muhammad out for the remainder of the NASL season.

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