Steve Zakuani issued a heartfelt letter of gratitude to his fans and well-wishers through his foundation Kingdom Hope this afternoon:
Dear Friends of Kingdom Hope and the Sounders FC Community:
As you all know, during our match this past Friday against the Colorado Rapids, I was unfortunately on the receiving end of a mistimed tackle and had my right tibia and fibula broken as a result. I have been recovering in Denver since Friday night and I just want to say that I am more than overwhelmed by the outpouring of well wishes and genuine encouragements I have received.
After 24 hours I had received about 400 emails, a couple hundred Facebook messages, hundreds of Facebook wall posts, 62 text messages and several phone calls from all over the world. I can't thank my family, friends and fans enough for their love towards me. I also would like to thank my club team, Seattle Sounders FC, for going above and beyond what they needed to do in order to make sure I was comfortable and well taken care of.
The long road to recovery has already started and I am fully aware of the mountains ahead of me but I also know that I will go through all of the challenges ahead with a positive attitude using my faith in Jesus Christ as a solid foundation on which to overcome this setback. Again, thank you for your love, thoughts and prayers toward me.
Thank you,
Steve Zakuani
Earlier in the day the Sounders announced that they would be handing out placards with Zakuani's #11 on them ahead of Seattle's match against Toronto FC on Saturday evening at Qwest Field. Jeremiah Oshan has more details on the tribute (as well s instructions on downloading the placard should you not be able to make the game) at SB Nation's Seattle Sounders blog Sounder At Heart.