VANCOUVER — Ryan Gauld knew right away that something was wrong.
The way his left leg had hyperextended was bad. The pain he was feeling was worse.
“At the time, I worried it was a big injury, like straight away, that I would maybe require a surgery or something,” Gauld said “And thankfully, after doing the tests, it wasn’t any structural damage, nothing that could last long term.”
The knee injury sidelined the Vancouver Whitecaps captain for nearly seven months.
He returned Wednesday to help his team claim its fourth straight Canadian Championship.
Now, with three games left on the regular-season schedule, Gauld and the Whitecaps are preparing for a crucial stretch ahead of what they hope will be a long playoff run.
Vancouver’s next test will come Sunday when the club hosts the San Jose Earthquakes.
Having Gauld back in the lineup is a boon, said teammate Ali Ahmed.
“Oh, my goodness, I think that might be close to as good as winning this (Canadian Championship)” he said after Wednesday’s win. “He’s a great lad. And you feel for him. He’s been out for a long time. And we’re having fun. And now he’s happy to be part of it, and we’re all happy to have him.”
It didn’t take Gauld long to make an impact in the final.
Four minutes after coming off the bench, he blasted a right-footed shot in from the top of the penalty area for the Whitecaps’ fourth goal of a 4-2 win over Canadian premier league side Vancouver FC.
Asked Friday what Gauld’s role will be going forward, Whitecaps head coach Jesper Sorensen deadpanned.
“Like we saw the other day — when he touches (the ball), it goes in the back of the net,” he said.
Having the 29-year-old Scottish international back in the lineup means a lot for the team, Sorensen added.
“He’s been the team’s captain for a while now, and he has been one of the best players for this club since he arrived,” he said.” He is an important player for us, and he means a lot. He brings a lot on the pitch, but also off the pitch as well.”
Gauld originally signed with Vancouver in July 2021 after playing for SC Farnese in Liga Portugal. He inked an extension last year that will keep him playing for the Whitecaps through the 2027 campaign.
Over his Major League Soccer career, Gauld has amassed 35 goals and 31 assists across 111 regular-season games with the ‘Caps, including 10 goals and 15 assists in 2024.
He appeared poised for another big showing this year — until the injury forced him to the sidelines on March 8.
When Gauld went down in the 23rd minute of Vancouver’s match against CF Montreal, it seemed unlikely he’d be out for a large chunk of the season.
He was initially listed as week to week after the injury — originally described as a knee capsule sprain — was diagnosed.
Together with the club’s medical staff, Gauld spoke to a number of experts and got a number of opinions, eventually determining that he was dealing with a bone bruise.
“I think I maybe did try and rush it a little bit too soon, and it might set me back an extra few weeks,” he said Friday. “With the area the injury was in, it didn’t make recovery easy, and there’s nothing you can do to speed it up. It’ll heal on its own time.”
Instead of heading home to Scotland to recover, Gauld opted to stay in Vancouver, at first because of uncertainty around the timeline of his recovery, then because he simply wanted to be around the team.
There were some tough moments mentally, he said.
“You want to be on the pitch, you want to help out, you want to do your part,” he explained. “But at the same time, it’s stuff that’s totally out of my control. So there’s no point getting annoyed or down in the dumps about it.”
As Gauld recovered, his team excelled.
The Whitecaps drew ample attention in the spring as they worked their way through the CONCACAF Champions Cup, ultimately falling to LIGA MX side Cruz Azul in the final.
In league play, Vancouver steadily climbed the Western Conference standings and currently sits second in the Western Conference with a 16-6-9 record.
Watching the team succeed was “brilliant,” Gauld said.
“It’s made it easier for me,” he said. “Just because it can be hard coming in injured, doing the same thing every day if results aren’t going your way and the moods may not be great.
“But the team was doing so well that everyone was buzzing around the place. So it was nice to still be around that. And the days passed much easier and much quicker.”
Another buzz enveloped the Whitecaps in August when news emerged that Vancouver was on the cusp of signing German soccer legend Thomas Muller.
Gauld learned the news the same way many ‘Caps fans did — online.
He’s since got to know the 36-year-old former Bayern Munich star in training and around the team’s facility.
“(Muller’s) been incredible with the group, on the pitch and off the pitch,” Gauld said. “He’s been really good, not just for the young boys, but for boys like myself, to see his attitude and everything.”
Both Gauld and Muller are attacking centres, but Gauld doesn’t see the newcomer as a threat to his position with the ‘Caps.
“I’m looking forward to getting to play minutes with him and kind of figure out how I can best fit around him,” he said.
“And just him doing what he does, he seems to lift everyone’s game so far, the energy and intensity, even has stepped up another level. So I’m looking forward to being a part of that on the pitch and trying to raise my game as much as I can.”
This report by The Canadian Press was first published Oct. 3, 2025.
Gemma Karstens-Smith, The Canadian Press
