Malachi Jones traveled to London and had a second surgery to correct his broken right tibia, New York City FC announced.
Jones suffered a double-leg-break injury on June 28, 2024, fracturing both his right tibia and fibula a nasty full-speed collision with Orlando City SC goalkeeper Mason Stajduhar, who also suffered a leg break. Jones had his first surgery two days later on June 30.
Following the surgery, the team never officially ruled him out of the 2024 season by placing him on the season-ending injury list, so there was a glimmer of hope he'd return for the MLS Cup Playoffs. That never materialized and his recovery didn't accelerate with an offseason's worth of rest and recovery, either.
Now it's a second procedure to address one of the two fractures, tibia specifically, for the 21-year-old winger drafted by New York City with the 8th overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft. Another long-term absence has to be expected, though no clear timeline for the recovery was shared by NYCFC when announcing Malachi's latest surgery. Pascal Jansen alluded to Jones having this type of setback when asked about the player during his press conference ahead of the match vs. New England Revolution, saying "He's not going to return for a while...we'll just have to be very patient before we can see Mali back on the pitch, unfortunately."
His continued absence is a loss for the team, as Jones looked highly promising in his limited 2024 minutes and was expanding his role and his share of minutes right when his injury occurred. He had one goal and one assist and put up hugely promising per-90-minute numbers compared to MLS wingers in things like shots, progressive carries, and touches in the attacking penalty area.
You can read the full club statement on the second Jones surgery below.
NEW YORK – March 18, 2025 – New York City FC today announced that Forward Malachi Jones has undergone a further procedure to repair the right tibia fracture he sustained last season in June.
The forward had surgery at Fortius Clinic in London, U.K., yesterday and will complete the initial phase of his rehab at City Football Academy (CFA) in Manchester, before returning to New York where he will complete the process with our team.
“First and foremost, we feel for Malachi that he has suffered this setback in his rehab that required a second surgery,” Sporting Director David Lee said. “Everyone has seen how hard Malachi has worked to return to the pitch, but we concluded that it was best to undergo surgery at this point to help him return to full health. Our priority is to support Malachi in every way possible throughout his rehabilitation process and we look forward to welcoming Malachi back as he continues his recovery alongside the team.”
After being selected with the 8th overall pick in the 2024 MLS SuperDraft, Jones established himself into the team last season making four starts across 14 appearances, contributing with a goal and three assists before sustaining his injury.
Everyone at the club wishes Malachi all the best in his recovery.
