New England Revolution Preparing For Life Without Brandon Bye in 2023

The right back announced he will miss the rest of the 2023 season.

Photo By ©J. Alexander Dolan

The New England Revolution have had to deal with injuries throughout the 2023 MLS season and they have cost another player their season as Brandon Bye will miss the rest of the 2023 season due to an ACL injury.

In 19 games, Bye tallied two goals and two assists. He has been a constant chance-creator in the attack with his ability to send crosses into the box and has improved defensively in recent matches.

“Unfortunately, Brandon [Bye], as we all know, did his ACL, which is really unfortunate,” assistant coach Richie Williams stated. “It’s going to be tough to replace Brandon, but you know, that’s why we have the depth that we have on our team. I thought the other night, DeJuan [Jones] went to the right and Ryan [Spaulding] came in and he did a good job. So, that’s going to hurt our team, and it’s just next man up.”

Bye has been one of the players that the coaching staff could rely on every match. He was a permanent fixture in the starting XI along with the likes of Dave Romney and Jones.

Midfielder Matt Polster discussed the impact of losing a reliable player such as the right back.

“He [Bye] is a veteran player within the league and within this team. Losing a guy that just brings stability to the backline and to that position, it's tough for something like that to happen,” the midfielder said. “You don't want any injuries to happen to any players, and we've been hit with quite a few this season. So, it's tough. We wish him nothing but the best in recovery and he knows that he has a huge support from us as the players and staff that we want him to come back as soon as possible but at the right time.”

Beyond his importantance and reliability, Bye was finding his form and playing some impressive soccer. This injury sees all that momentum and progress grind to a halt.

“That's a tough one,” Andrew Farrell said of Bye’s injury. “He's an important player for our team and I think a player who's been playing really well for us as of late. I think he always plays great, but lately he's been doing really, really well. So now, it's a tough player to replace, but like we've done so many times this year, we got guys who can step up. I think even in the game when the DeJuan [Jones] shifting to the right and having Ryan [Spaulding] come in, I think he did well and has been doing well since he was called back on loan from Tampa Bay. So yeah, we have trust in the guys that are here and the guys who can step up, but obviously sad, hoping for a quick recovery, and our thoughts are with Brandon.”

With the loss of Bye, a lot of pressure will be put on Jones. The outside back has continually been relied on to help out on the attack and seems primed to switch over to the right side of the pitch.

Luckily Jones is quite comfortable making the switch as he is naturally right footed.

“Yeah, I'm naturally right footed, so it should be no problem to go back over to the right side,” Jones said. “And yeah, I feel comfortable on either side, so if I have to play on the right side, I'll be ready.”

But the pressure will also be on Ryan Spaulding. It seems quite likely that he is thrust into the starting XI and very well could be locked into the starting XI.

Jones has faith that his fellow outside back will be able to rise to the occasion.

“Yeah, I think he [Spaulding] was also really good when he came on,” the 26-year-old stated. “He had a really great loan spell with Tampa Bay, and he deserved to come back and get some minutes now. So, I think he'll get some more minutes moving forward, I thought he did a really good job in the last game, so we're looking forward to good performances from him as well.”

While New England has options, the depth at outside back will be tested. Spaulding will need to step up and the only options on the bench would be Joshua Bolma, Ben Sweat, and Christian Makoun.

The loss of Bye will put a spotlight on the lack of depth at the position and if Jones and Spaulding start to struggle, the Revolution could be in trouble.