Canadian forward Jacob Shaffelburg is scheduled for surgery on Friday to address a degenerative condition, as confirmed by Los Angeles FC. The MLS team specified that the recovery process is expected to last about eight weeks and aims to fully resolve the issue to prepare Shaffelburg for the 2026 season.
Hailing from Port Williams, N.S., the 26-year-old was part of Canada coach Jesse Marsch’s January camp in California. However, due to his upcoming surgery, Toronto FC winger Malik Henry will step in as his replacement, according to Canada Soccer.
Shaffelburg, who was traded to LAFC on December 29 in a deal that saw Nashville SC receive $1 million in general allocation money, has recorded six goals and one assist in 31 appearances for Canada, including 12 starts.
The Canadian training camp will continue until January 18 in Irvine, culminating in a friendly match against Guatemala on January 17 at BMO Stadium, which is the home ground of LAFC. This game marks the first encounter between the two teams since Guatemala eliminated Canada from the Gold Cup last June in Minneapolis through a penalty shootout in the quarterfinals, during which Shaffelburg was shown a red card in stoppage time.
Malik Henry, who has previously represented Canada at the under-15 level, is now 23 years old and signed his first-team contract with Toronto in August.