SAN JOSE, Calif. — San Jose Earthquakes midfielder Niko Tsakiris underwent successful surgery on his right groin Tuesday morning and is expected to miss three to four months.Â
Tsakiris, 20, has emerged as one of the premier attacking midfielders in Major League Soccer this season for the first-place Earthquakes. The Quakes Academy product has scored three goals and is second in the league in assists (7) as well as third in successful crosses (23) while leading MLS in several other categories, namely chances created (34), key passes (38) and corner kicks taken (54). On April 4, he became the second youngest player in Quakes history (20 years, 289 days) to score a brace behind Landon Donovan in a 3-0 win over San Diego FC.Â
Since signing a contract as a Homegrown Player on Jan. 13, 2022, Tsakiris made his professional debut two months later and became the third-youngest player to ever suit up for the Black and Blue. The following season at age 18, he was one of the youngest players to appear in the 2023 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs. Over his brief career so far, Tsakiris has amassed four goals and 12 assists in 81 games (48 starts) across all competitions.Â
A native of Saratoga, California, Tsakiris has represented the United States at several age groups, starting at Under-15 level but most recently with the U-21s in March. In 2024, U.S. Soccer nominated him for Young Male Player of the Year after earning Golden Ball honors at the 2024 Concacaf U-20 Championship as the tournament’s best player and leading the Americans to the final. Last October at the FIFA U-20 World Cup, the midfielder shined again, scoring two goals including a free-kick curler against Italy to propel the USYNT into the quarterfinals for the fifth consecutive time.
