Hi!

so just to be clear, I -can- remove this, and it -should- work
without replacing it?

No, you'd better replace that capacitor. The designers of the board
put it there for a good reason. If you just remove it, you may find
out why when the board blows up or something on it fries.

A new capacitor will be cheap. If you can find someone who is willing
to remove and replace the old one, or if you already know how, this
will not be an expensive fix.

William