The two-month saga that has hung over the head of the Penn State men's soccer team is finally over.

Senior midfielder Ricardo Villar is done for the year.

Villar, who sustained the deep bone bruise while playing in an exhibition match with Penn State in Holland earlier this year, sat down with Nittany Lion coach Barry Gorman yesterday to discuss his future at Penn State.

Taking into account Villar's expected return date from the injury, academic status and opportunities of playing professionally next year, the All-American, with the help of his coach, made the decision to take a medical redshirt for this season which will allow him to return for a fifth year next season.

The need for a decision on the issue was determined when Villar went for a check up on the injured ankle on Friday.

According to Gorman, after examining Villar, the doctor said the injured Lion wouldn't be cleared for play until December which would only give him the opportunity to play in the NCAA tournament if Penn State made it that far. Pair that with the need for physical conditioning when he does get healthy and the only real options he had were to redshirt or sign on with a professional club in Germany that had shown interest in him.

Gorman said the final decision was completely up to Villar, but that he wanted to help the injured star make the right choice.

"Our (the coaching staff's) only concern is the health of the player," the 13-year coach said. "I don't want to have a player be a cripple and have to use a cane 30 years down the road because he decided to play."

Although the possibility of Villar playing this season is gone, Gorman said that his rehabilitation regimen will stay the same until he is healthy and that the only difference is there won't be pressure on the training staff to have the ankle healed by a certain date. Gorman added that he expects Villar to make a full recovery over the winter and will be able to regain his match fitness during team workouts in the spring.

Villar may not be able to put any goals up for the team this season, but junior co-captain Derek Potteiger says the All-American will help the team in other ways.

"He's got a great soccer mind. He's good at telling people what needs to be changed," Potteiger said.

"He comes to every practice and every game and having him there will help keep the team morale up."

Though the loss of this season may be hard for Villar to handle right now, there is a big upside that comes along with the redshirt decision.

Barring any major injuries, the Lions should only lose three players from this year's squad and the tandem of Villar and perennial All-American Potteiger should be one of the most dangerous one-two punches in the nation.

By getting another shot at his senior season, Villar will have a better opportunity to prove what kind of player he is to various professional teams throughout the world.

"Anytime a kid gets injured there will be a question mark about them," Gorman said. "Everyone knows he (Villar) can play, it's just a case of proving he has recovered from the injury. Having a year of eligibility will help him do that."