Austin Staats added to San Diego’s active roster

Austin Staats (Photo: Mike McGinnis)

The San Diego Seals have announced that the team has added Austin Staats to their active roster ahead of tonight’s game against the Calgary Roughnecks (9pm ET).

In October, the Seals had confirmed that their star forward would be undergoing knee surgery, also indicating, “The timeline for his return is unknown at this point.”

San Diego GM and Head Coach, Pat Merrill, had told The San Diego Union Tribune that he was hopeful Staats would return at some point this season, but was unsure of when that could potentially have been.

Staats, who had previously suffered a season-ending knee injury during his remarkable 2019 rookie year, was suspected by many to be sidelined for most of the 2021/22 National Lacrosse League season. If he plays tonight, Staats will have missed just two of San Diego’s regular season games.

Last season, Staats had a 5-goal effort against the same Calgary side San Diego sees at the Scotiabank Saddledome tonight. During his rookie season, Staats had 15 points against the Roughnecks in three games.

The team is currently 1-1, last weekend scoring a decisive and historically significant 13-4 victory over the Colorado Mammoth.

“We all know what type of player he is, and we’re stoked to have him back out there,” Merrill said in today’s announcement.

The Seals have moved forward Zack Greer to the injured reserve list, but did not indicate what injury the forward sustained. Greer had registered 2 points during the team’s first two games this season.