Rhode Island FC loses Jamin Gogo Peters for season, Herivaux sidelined

Rhode Island FC lost forward Jamin Gogo Peters for the rest of the 2026 USL Championship season after he suffered an ACL tear, and midfielder Zachary Herivaux is also sidelined after ankle surgery. The club said Herivaux hurt his ankle in June and is expected back in 2-6 weeks, leaving Rhode Island with two roster holes at once as the season reaches its stretch run.

Peters’ injury cuts off a development arc that had carried local significance since Rhode Island FC signed the former Brown University forward. He became the fourth-ever Rhode Island FC player to join the club from a Rhode Island college or university, a detail that made his rise more than a standard depth move and gave the attack a homegrown edge. Now that season-long absence forces Rhode Island to find another source of forward minutes and pressure without the player it had been able to grow internally.

Herivaux’s loss may be even more disruptive in the short term. The Haiti international arrived from the Tampa Bay Rowdies on July 3, 2024, and later delivered four goals and one assist in 14 appearances after his midseason move. Rhode Island FC then handed him a multi-year contract extension ahead of the 2025 season, a clear sign of how much value the club placed on his ability to influence matches from midfield.

That confidence was backed by league recognition. USL Championship voted Herivaux its 2024 Comeback Player of the Year after he returned from an injury layoff and put together career-best numbers in goals and assists. With that kind of production now unavailable for at least several weeks, Rhode Island must decide how much of his role can be absorbed by players already on the roster and how much creativity disappears from the midfield while he recovers.

The combined setback changes the club’s tactical picture immediately. Peters’ ACL tear removes a forward option for the entire year, while Herivaux’s surgery leaves a proven scorer in midfield off the board during a critical phase of the schedule. Rhode Island’s postseason outlook now hinges on whether the current squad can replace enough of that output internally to keep its ambitions on track before the calendar closes on any margin for error.