Doctors have told FCE midfielder Ilja Van Leerdam has been told to stay off his injured knee — and if he isn’t pain free in the coming weeks, surgery may be needed.

After beating the Atlanta 2-1 on Saturday, FC Edmonton has made Silverbacks Stadium its home away from home this week.

FC Edmonton will soon find out just how long import midfielder Ilja Van Leerdam will be out as he struggles with a knee problem.

According to FIFA, Canadian teams acquired a total of 58 players in the first half of 2012, while 48 moved on. But, altogether, the total amount of transfer dollars in ALL of the deals was… USD$100,000.

But, the Eddies got two second-half goals in the space of 93 seconds, then held on to beat the Silverbacks by a 2-1 count. The win saw FC Edmonton spring off the league basement, ahead of the Silverbacks.

The club announced Thursday — while the first team is on a road trip that will see it face Atlanta on Saturday — that Sinkgraven and Schrijver’s contracts will be extended through to the end of the 2013 season.

FC Edmonton is waiting on the Scottish Football Association to finish filing some paperwork to the Canadian Soccer Association to make the transfer official.

FC Edmonton’s home matches have been broadcast on CBC.ca all season long — now the NASL team’s Aug. 4 telecast will jump to CBC TV.

Despite being up a man for an hour, FC Edmonton couldn’t score — and, to make matters worse for the home team, the Eddies were caught at the back late in the game, as Luke Mulholland’s goal gave the Tampa Bay Rowdies a 1-0 win.

Team general manager Tom Leip confirmed that the team has placed a liquor-licence application to the Alberta Gaming and Liquor Commission, but have yet to get it back with a stamp of approval.