ASN Injury Report
20 U.S. Soccer Injury Updates from Far and Wide
We've got 20 injury updates for you today—some good, some not so good, all of them courtesy American Soccer Now contributor Nick Kariuki. Scroll down and be informed, soccer obsessives.
BY
Nick Kariuki
Posted
April 24, 2014
10:26 AM
DaMarcus Beasley was subbed off after 40 minutes in Puebla’s 2-1 win at Pachuca with a right hamstring strain. On Tuesday a Puebla spokesman told MLSsoccer.com that the injury was not as bad as it seemed and Beasley could even featured against Morelia this Sunday.
Michael Orozco did not make the Puebla squad for a second straight game, as he continues to recover from his hamstring injury.
Birmingham City’s Jonathan Spector injured his ankle on Saturday and was forced to miss Monday’s 4-2 loss to visiting Blackburn Rovers. Manager Lee Clark spoke to the Birmingham Mail about his decision to exclude Spector: “He was prepared to give it a go. I appreciate Jonathan’s attitude to put himself forward... But when I know there is potential for further damage, you can’t do it.” Spector should be back for Saturday’s game against Leeds United
Blues teammate Will Packwood has been fit for a while, but Monday’s game saw him finally return to the field after his hamstring injury. Packwood started at right back but was moved into the center after 29 minutes to try and adjust to the three goals conceded by that point.
Like many Reading starters, Danny Williams is continuing to play despite a niggling injury. On Tuesday the midfielder played for all of the Royals 2-0 win over Middlesbrough, despite carrying a knee injury for most of April. Nigel Adkins' reliance on his “walking wounded” seems to be paying off though. Reading are back in a playoff spot with two games left in the season.
Bill Hamid is training regularly now after missing three consecutive games for D.C. United. The keeper’s Monday tweet bodes well for his chances of suiting up against Dallas this Saturday:
D.C. midfielder Chris Pontius has undergone additional left hamstring surgery this week, setting his return date at four-to-six months from now. The decision came after consulting three specialists around the country. United’s General Manager Dave Kasper had this to say about Pontius’ current mindset: “Now that there is a clear direction, he’s in a better place. Obviously he has the experience of recovering from injuries so he is optimistic.”
At the Los Angeles Galaxy, Todd Dunivant may spend an extra week away from the training pitch to rest his abdominal injury. Dunivant was projected to return this week but as of yesterday he has not. The Galaxy have a bye week coming up, so the left back could still be back in time to face the Colorado Rapids on May 3.
Houston Dymano captain Brad Davis did not suit up for his side’s 4-0 loss at New York last night. Davis has been out with an ankle injury for three games now.
There were plenty of big-name returns in the MLS last weekend. Michael Bradley was healthy enough to play the full 90 minutes for Toronto FC on Saturday but could not prevent his side’s 2-1 loss to FC Dallas. Bradley, along with the rest of Toronto’s wounded squad, will get some well-deserved rest until their May 3 home game against New England.
After four games out recovering from a calf contusion, Brad Evans came on as a 67th-minute substitute in Seattle’s 2-1 win against Chivas USA. Evans’ next chance to return to the starting XI will come when the Sounders face Colorado this Saturday.
Goalkeeper Nick Rimando made his return from his strained MCL in Real Salt Lake’s 1-0 win against Portland. Rimando earned the Player of the Week honors for his 111th career shutout. He is now one game away from tying the MLS all-time record.
Despite making the RSL bench for the Timbers game, Luis Gil will not participate in the U.S. U-21 national team cin order to fully recuperate from his hamstring-groin injury.
Rapids left back Chris Klute seemed to be more ready to return to “the lion’s den” than he and Coach Pablo Mastroeni let on last Tuesday. The defender started and played the full game in the Rapids' scoreless draw against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Teammate Dillon Powers came away from the game with lower leg soreness and missed training yesterday as a result. Mastroeni told the Denver Post this on Tuesday: “Think we’re going to look into that later in the week. Day by day. I’m not concerned.”
Despite returning to first team training on Tuesday, Kelyn Rowe is unlikely to play for the Revolution this weekend. Head coach Jay Heaps told MLSsoccer this: “With Kelyn, we’re moving him along conservatively and not overextending him too much.”
Steven Lenhart was absent from the Quakes squad. The Mercury News reported Tuesday that the forward should be out for at least 10 more days recovering the sprained medial lateral ligament in his left knee. This should have him back in time for San Jose’s trip to Vancouver on May 3.
FC Dallas defender George John should be returning to training “very soon,” coach Oscar Pareja told the Dallas News on Monday.
After eleven weeks out with a lateral meniscus tear in his left knee, Nurnberg’s Timothy Chandler is back in full team training! The right back had been training individually for two weeks and told Bild yesterday that he could even be back in the squad as early as this Saturday’s game against Mainz. Yesterday Nurnberg sacked manager Gertjan Verbeek (who in mid-March ruled Chandler out for the rest of the season) and promoted U-23 coach Roger Prinzen to the top spot. Chandler’s swift return will come as good news to the struggling Bavarian side, and Jurgen Klinsmann will likely take note as well.
Get ready to face palm. It turns out that John Brooks’ exclusion from Hertha Berlin's 2-1 loss at Bayer Leverkusen was due to missed training recovering from a new “large scale” back tattoo. This poor decision looked set to limit the 21-year-old’s future playing chances under annoyed manager Jos Luhukay, who had previously subbed the young center back out early twice this season due to poor performance. Injuries to Levan Kobiashvili midweek and Fabian Lustenberger pregame brought Brooks back into the fold though, and on Saturday he played the full 90 minutes of Hertha’s 0-0 draw with Augsburg. Brooks also had his elbows inked recently and Bild reports that the back-piece will remain unfinished for the rest of the season.
Nick Kariuki writes his ASN Injury Report every week. Follow him on Twitter.
