In a bit of surprising news, New York City FC announced Thursday that center back Thiago Martins had undergone knee surgery and was expected to miss the next four to six weeks.
Head coach Pascal Jansen told reporters that the surgery, which took place at Montefiore Hospital, “went well.”
Before the announcement, there had been no indication that Martins was dealing with any sort of injury that would impact his availability on the pitch. The surgery comes at a time when NYCFC is dealing with some thin depth at the position.
Thiago Martins of New York City FC dribbles as Nicolás Lodeiro defends during the first half of their 3-0 home loss to the Houston Dynamo on May 28, 2025. Getty Images“We wish him a speedy recovery, because he’s a massive piece for our dressing room and our team in the way we want to play. Hopefully things will go well,” Jansen said.
What made the decision seem even more of a surprise was that Martins had been scheduled to speak with the media ahead of the club’s match on Friday against FC Dallas, Hudson River Blue reported.
This isn’t the first time Martins has dealt with a knee injury during his time at NYCFC.
The Brazilian footballer underwent knee surgery in June 2023 in what the team described as a left knee scope, and he missed a little more than a month during that span.
But the timing of the injury does put NYCFC in a bit of a squeeze right now, especially after Birk Risa returned to Norway to rejoin his club Molde FK earlier this month.
Thiago Martins of New York City FC controls the ball against Iván Angulo during their road loss to Orlando City on July 16, 2025. Getty ImagesJansen said that there are several options to fill Martins’ spot on the pitch, including Tayvon Gray and Kevin O’Toole, in the short term and hinted that the club has some eyes on potential center backs during the transfer window.
“We’ve been looking at center backs already for a longer period of time, that doesn’t only concern us now with Thiago not being available or Birk leaving the club,” Jansen said. “It’s been on our radar for quite some time, so we have several candidates in our sight who might be interesting to bring to New York.”
The New York City FC coach also suggested recent signing Nicolás Fernández could make his debut with the club on Friday, but he was still in the process of obtaining his visa.
Fernández and the club are still waiting “on a few things” and he was “trying to get his stuff done as soon as possible.”
