Charlotte FC player stepping away from his loan club to focus on mental health
Charlotte FC midfielder Sergio Ruiz is taking an indefinite leave of absence from playing with his loan club in Spain to focus on his mental health prior to the start of the 2022 Major League Soccer season.
Ruiz, the first signed player for Charlotte’s MLS expansion franchise, has been playing for Spanish Second Division club Las Palmas FC for the past year. The club announced Thursday that Ruiz left Las Palmas in the morning to return to his family in Northern Spain “to continue his process of mental recovery in his hometown,” the club said in an announcement in Spanish.
The team said that Ruiz, 25, is following the advice of specialists who diagnosed his psychological state. Las Palmas thanked Ruiz for reintegrating into the team after returning from a minor fracture in his right foot that kept him from playing in October. He appeared in six matches for Las Palmas since mid-August, most recently playing Nov. 3 for the team’s 2-1 defeat of Fuenlabrada. He was not on the roster for the club’s most recent match on Nov. 6.
Charlotte FC said in a statement that it was aware Ruiz left Las Palmas to focus on his well-being and said that it would make every resource available to fully support him.
“Sergio is an incredible player, but more so an amazing human being,” Charlotte FC head coach Miguel Ángel Ramírez said in a statement. “And all of us at Charlotte FC are here to support Sergio and his family.”
Ruiz was planning to be in Charlotte for pre-season training this winter ahead of the 2022 regular season, which begins Feb. 26. The latest timing of his arrival is unclear. Charlotte FC declined to comment further on the situation out of respect to Ruiz and his family.
“We look forward to welcoming him in Charlotte when he is ready to return to professional football,” Ramírez’s statement read.
Ruiz is one of eight players on Charlotte FC’s inaugural roster so far. The other seven players are Ecuadorian central midfielder Jordy Alcívar, Uruguayan center back Guzmán Corujo, Polish defender Jan Sobociński, Australian midfielder Riley McGree, Austrian defender Christian Fuchs and two U.S.-born players, defender Adam Armour and midfielder Brandt Bronico.
