Colorado confirms Ryan Lee out for entire 2023-24 season due to complications from initial knee surgery
Ryan Lee and Zed Williams, Colorado Mammoth (Photo: Steven Richardson Jr.)
On Wednesday, the Colorado Mammoth announced that Ryan Lee is expected to miss the entire 2023-24 National Lacrosse League season due to offseason surgery to address complications the forward experienced after an initial surgery on is injured knee a season earlier.
The team’s announcement described Lee’s most recent surgery as “successful”.
“There’s no way to replace Ryan,” said Colorado GM Brad Self. “He’s a true warrior and competitor and one of the best players in our sport. Collectively we’re going to ask everyone to step up in Ryan’s absence.”
Lee had previously injured his knee during the opening round of the 2022 NLL playoffs. As heavy underdogs, the Mammoth would still manage to capture the Cup that season without their high-profile forward in the lineup.
Playing just six games during last year’s regular season, Lee would compete in all of Colorado’s playoff games, the team losing the final in a rematch against the Buffalo Bandits, who they had topped in a tight series a year earlier.
The Mammoth press release yesterday further indicated, “The organization will now turn to producers in Zed Williams, Tyson Gibson and recent trade acquisition Connor Kelly to get the job for the righties across the set from Eli McLaughlin, Connor Robinson and company as the forward group prepares to begin a second-straight season without Lee’s services.”
Last year, the Mammoth were one of just four teams in the NLL to scored fewer than 200 goals during the regular season (190). Although they did go to the finals for a second straight year, they were 2023’s lowest seeded post-season squad.
Lee isn’t the only high-profile player expected to miss all of this upcoming season due to injury. Last month, the Toronto Rock confirmed that 2023 Defensive Player of the Year Latrell Harris would also miss the upcoming season after successful knee surgery. The Rock announcement confirmed that Harris tore his ACL while playing in the Premier Lacrosse League this past summer.
“There’s no way to sugar coat it, it sucks,” said Rock Owner, President and GM Jamie Dawick. “You can’t lose the Defensive Player of the Year and just find someone to replace him. It’s a huge blow to our team.”
Last year, the Rock also lost the services of 2022’s Defensive Player of the Year Mitch de Snoo for seven regular season games with what the team described as a lower body injury. Toronto was also without free agent signing Chris Corbeil for most of last year after the former Saskatchewan Rush captain tore his pec prior 2023’s team training camp.
Harris is currently rehabbing post-surgery at the team’s recently opened Toronto Rock Sports Medicine & Wellness Centre at the Toronto Rock Athletic Centre in Oakville, Ontario.