Union goalkeeper Andre Blake had surgery to clean up his injured knee

After missing five games because of a right knee injury, Union goalkeeper Andre Blake had surgery to clean up the meniscus at the root of it, manager Jim Curtin revealed Tuesday.

“Minor surgery where they [found] a couple little loose flaps in there and they cleaned up a little, minor, tear,” Curtin said.

Blake will be out four to six weeks, which puts his participation in the Copa América with Jamaica in jeopardy. It certainly rules him out of the Reggae Boyz’s games before then, their opening 2026 World Cup qualifiers vs. the Dominican Republic on June 6 and at Dominica on June 9. Jamaica’s Copa opener is June 22 vs. Mexico in Houston.

“It’ll be touch-and-go for him there,” Curtin said. “We knew we’d be missing Andre [during the tournament]. Unfortunately, we miss him a little bit earlier than we had hoped. But most importantly now, it’s to get him healed up 100% to where he’s in his best form.”

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When Curtin didn’t rule Blake out of the Copa in those remarks, he was asked about it more directly.

“He’s not formally out — it’ll be a week-by-week thing,” Curtin said. “I’m not here to rule Andre out of anything. Four-to-six is just a guideline. … The only person that knows when his body is 100 percent will be Andre, and he’s been through these types of things now and knows his body best.”

As for the Union’s net, Oliver Semmle will remain the starter for a while. He’ll take the field for Wednesday’s home game vs. Toronto FC (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) coming off back-to-back shutouts, including an especially good performance in Saturday’s scoreless tie at Charlotte.

“He’s done a good job in recent weeks, and hopefully he can continue to grow and get better in Andre’s absence,” Curtin said.

» READ MORE: Oliver Semmle leads the Union to a scoreless tie at Charlotte FC

The Union’s other national team regulars likely will leave town after Saturday’s game vs. CF Montreal: Damion Lowe (Jamaica), Dániel Gazdag (Hungary), José Andrés Martínez (Venezuela), and Jesús Bueno (Venezuela).

Gazdag’s absence will hurt the most, since he rarely takes even a minute off from the attacking midfield spot. The two candidates to step in for him are 24-year-old Jeremy Rafanello or 18-year-old David Vazquez, who has a higher ceiling.

Rafanello is on the first-team bench all the time but rarely plays. Vazquez came up in the academy, started the year with the reserves, and got a first-team deal last month. He played for the reserves on Sunday against the New York Red Bulls’ reserves and scored two nice goals in a 5-1 rout.

Curtin has said before he’d like to get Vazquez into the first team’s rhythm. Now would be a fine time to do it.

“They’ll get their opportunities for sure as time goes by here,” Curtin said. “It’s a big jump to the first team. It’s one that step-by-step they’re going to make.”

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Though the upcoming Copa América won’t have any games in Philadelphia, Subaru Park will host two warmup friendlies next month for some of the South American teams that are taking part.

First up will be Ecuador vs. Bolivia at 8:30 p.m. June 12. Though neither team has announced its Copa squad yet, it’s likely that the game will have some big-time star power in Ecuador’s Moisés Caicedo (England’s Chelsea) and Piero Hincapié (Germany’s Bayer Leverkusen) and one of the world’s hottest young prospects in Chelsea-bound 17-year-old Kendry Paez.

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Bolivia’s squad could have Union reserve right back Jamir Berdecio. He’s been called up for Friday’s friendly vs. Mexico in Chicago, but it’s unclear whether he’ll stay with the team after that.

The game also will be a nice scouting opportunity for fans. Bolivia will be the United States’ first group opponent on June 23 in Arlington, Texas, and Ecuador is in the same group as Jamaica and Venezuela.

Then, on June 14, Peru will face El Salvador at 8:30 p.m. Peru’s squad likely will include a number of players from MLS, and the team is renowned for its boisterous fans.

Tickets to both games in Chester are available through the Union’s website. From the tickets page, click on “Single Game Tickets,” then the “purchasing seats directly” link, then “General Sales,” then “Buy Non-Union Subaru Park Event Tickets.”