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The same week Real Salt Lake is finally set to welcome back captain Kyle Beckerman to the midfield, the club found out it will be without another starter for the foreseeable future.

According to RSL team physician Dr. Andrew Cooper, midfielder Sunday Stephen will be out a minimum of six weeks after suffering multiple facial fractures Wednesday night against the New York Red Bulls.

Cooper said "Sunny" will undergo surgery next Wednesday to correct the fractures suffered when he collided with Red Bulls goalkeeper Luis Robles in the 10th minute of RSL's 2-1 win Wednesday night. Robles came off his line to clear a free kick sent into the box by Javier Morales and inadvertently slammed into Sunny, who stayed down on the pitch for several minutes grabbing his face.

"It's a very complex fracture," Cooper told the Tribune.

The impact fractured both the cheek bone and the eye socket. Cooper said the only way to treat extensive fractures like Sunny suffered is surgery.

This isn't the first time Cooper's seen what he refereed to as a "complex orbital blowout fracture." In October 2014, former RSL defender Chris Schuler suffered a similar fracture when he collided with then-teammate Nat Borchers. Schuler returned to soccer activities two weeks later and started in RSL's MLS Cup playoff series against the L.A. Galaxy a month after the injury.

Cooper said Sunny's fractures are more severe than what Schuler faced two years ago. Once Sunny is eventually cleared for soccer-related activities, Cooper expects him to sport a protective mask for some time.

"I've seen some pretty significant injuries," Cooper said. "That one got my heart rate up for sure."

Signed in January to fortify RSL's central midfield, Sunny became an immediate starter. The 27-year-old Nigerian had started 12 matches in 2016, recording a goal and an assist in his first year with the club.

The injury certainly changes the complexion of RSL's jam-packed summer schedule. As the club is expected to welcome Beckerman back after the U.S. men's national team's run in the Copa America Centenario comes to an end, it now awaits the healthy return of the impact two-way midfielder sidelined for at least the next month or so.

RSL general manager Craig Waibel said Friday the injury to Sunny doesn't change his plans for the summer transfer window too drastically.

"It'll make us a bit more active in the league, in the discussions we're having with other teams in terms of trading and strengthening the depth," Waibel said. "We're set to get Kyle back, Luke's [Mulholland] been playing well, John Stertzer's been playing very well, Jordan Allen's been playing very well, so there's no reason for us, for our fans, for me to hit the panic button and do anything silly right now unless it makes a lot of sense."

As he's always said, if the right deal for the right player is there to be had, Waibel will go a little further down that road. But for the moment, he's comfortable with the way his midfield has handled the 2016 campaign up to this point.

"I still don't think we need to rush into anything in the midfield with the way our roster's been performing in there," he said. "I still think we prioritize depth at a couple other positions, primarily the back line. From there, we just continue the process we've been going on."

Asked if Sunny's injury opens up more playing time for rookie midfielder Omar Holness or Homegrown midfielder Danny Acosta, Waibel said Holness is the more likely of the two to see more minutes as the hectic summer slate continues. The 18-year-old Acosta has started nine matches with the Monarchs in 2016, but hasn't made his RSL debut this season.

"It's a matter of age and performance," Waibel said. "On the right week with a good week of practice, you could see him in the game … Danny we'll be a little more selective with."

Holness made his first-team debut in RSL's U.S. Open Cup victory over the Wilmington Hammerheads on June 14, but has yet to make his MLS debut. The 22-year-old Jamaican's rookie year was slowed after suffering a seizure in his professional debut with Real Monarchs in late March.

"The only reason we haven't seen Omar to this point is because of the injury," Waibel said. "You will certainly see Omar Holness very soon."

Twitter: @chriskamrani