Lion Links: 9/5/15

Welcome back! Orlando City is in Massachusetts for a Saturday night Major League Soccer match-up against the New England Revolution at Gillette Stadium, where Patriots fans have probably gone crazy in celebration of Tom Brady’s four-game suspension being overturned.

Let's kick off your game day with some Lion Links…

Conor Donovan Has Successful Surgery

Orlando City announced on Friday that defender Conor Donovan had a successful surgery to repair the ACL in his left knee, which he tore in a game against the Philadelphia Union — his MLS debut with Orlando, too.

"Conor is in great spirits and we're very pleased with the results of his surgery," said Dr. Osbahr in a team release. "He's a dedicated and determined young man who will work extremely hard with our sports medicine team at Orlando Health to get back on the field as soon as possible."

Donovan tweeted a picture from the hospital on Thursday:

Speaking of Surgery…

We certainly hope midfielder Darwin Ceren doesn't need any. Ceren was stretchered off last night during El Salvador's World Cup qualifier against Curacao with an apparent knee injury.

When asked the doctor of the national team, Wilfredo Iraheta Sanabria, he confirmed that "Ceren suffered a mild strain of the medial collateral meniscus in his right knee , is already in treatment in order to lower the inflammation and pain. "

An MCL strain, if that's what it turns out to be, sucks, although it isn't as bad as it could have been. Still, it will likely sideline Ceren for awhile at a time Orlando City very much needs their defensive midfield stopper. We'll hold our collective breaths and hope it isn't too serious. It's a little ambiguous right now but he's certainly doubtful for the return leg on Sept. 8.

Oh, and El Salvador won a hard-fought 1-0 decision at Curacao in the third round of World Cup qualifying, scoring in the 12th minute and hanging on.

Larin Scoreless in Canada's WC Qualifier Win

Orlando City striker Cyle Larin didn't score but his Canadian teammates put three in the net to win the home leg of third round World Cup qualifying, 3-0 over visiting Belize. Tosaint Ricketts scored twice and Atiba Hutchinson added a goal for the Canadians.

USMNT Defeats Peru, 2-1

The United States started slow and fell behind 1-0, but Jozy Altidore scored twice in the second half to lead the Americans to a 2-1 victory over Peru at RFK Stadium in Washington D.C. last night. The Yanks started to come alive late in the first half but couldn't quite find the final ball. After the break, they kept the pressure on and eventually Altidore won a penalty. He failed to convert the spot kick but was able to knock home the rebound. He also cleaned up a scramble in front of the net off a Gyasi Zardez deflected shot.

According to Sports Illustrated soccer writer Grant Wahl, it's the first time the USMNT has won against a CONMEBOL side after trailing at halftime.

Higuita Thriving In His New Orlando City Home

Cristian Higuita has arguably been one of Orlando’s best young players this season, alongside Cyle Larin and Rafael Ramos. Higuita has made a name for himself in the middle of the Lions’ defensive midfield, as he’s thriving in his new home here in Orlando after coming over from Colombia in the winter.

Vote Kaká For Special EA Sports FIFA 16 Cover

Orlando City’s Kaká was the player selected to represent the club in a special EA Sports FIFA 16 cover vote presented by MLSSoccer.com. Fans have the opportunity to select up to four players for a special game cover that will be revealed later this month at the game’s release. Individual team covers will also be released, but go ahead and vote for Kaká!

Cincinnati Set Out With MLS Ambitions

FC Cincinnati is USL's newest franchise, which is set to kick off in 2016. Like most clubs forming nowadays, the team's owners have publicly announced their intentions to one day have their club compete in MLS. Who isn't these days?

The Internet is Freaking Out over Chicharito

In case you were wondering, Javier "Chicharito" Hernandez did not sign with Orlando City this summer. Instead, he ended up in Germany with Bayer Leverkusen. The signing was so big that traffic to the team's website, including the team shop, actually shut down the severs. Geez, just think of that chaos that would have broken loose if he ended up in Orlando.

* * *

That's it for your match day links. Stay tuned to The Mane Land for full coverage of tonight's game.