ASN Injury Report
Clint Dempsey Shrugs Off Injured Groin; Omar 100%
The American captain played down the significance of the groin injury that kept him out of Tuesday's match against Azerbaijan, while U.S. teammate Omar Gonzalez gave himself a clean bill of health.
BY
Nick Kariuki
Posted
May 29, 2014
5:37 PM
After experiencing tightness in his groin in warmups, Clint Dempsey was pulled from the starting XI of the U.S. World Cup squad that defeated Azerbaijan 2-0 on Tuesday. Speaking with Yahoo Sports after the game, the team captain calmed down fears from his exclusion: "I am just a little tight, just being precautionary, just being smart. [My groin] felt tight and I didn’t think it made sense to push it in this game. I’ll be ready for the next game. It’s all good."
The match at Candlestick Park also saw Omar Gonzalez in action for the first time since his left knee “tweak.” The Los Angeles Galaxy center back played out the entire second half after subbing in for Geoff Cameron. Speaking to reporters after the game, Gonzalez said this: "There are no problems [with my left knee], I feel 100 percent and now I'm ready to go.”
Back in Major League Soccer, Philadelphia Union defender Austin Berry missed Sunday’s 4-1 loss to the Galaxy due to an ankle injury. Berry should be fit in time for Saturday’s away game at Chivas USA but is not automatically guaranteed a spot in what has been a shaky back-line this season. Head coach John Hackworth told MLSsoccer this yesterday: “Having Austin back is certainly a good option for us, but he will have to, like everybody else, prove that he is the best available choice on Saturday.”
Reigning MLS MVP Mike Magee did not make the Chicago Fire squad that lost 2-0 at the Columbus Crew on Saturday due to a calf injury. He is out of contention for the club's next game by head coach Frank Yallop. The Fire face a daunting June schedule that includes Los Angeles on Sunday, Colorado the following Wednesday, and Seattle on June 7.
Houston Dynamo midfielder Ricardo Clark played no part in his team’s 3-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes on Sunday. He has now spent seven games on the sidelines with a concussion.
The same match saw Quakes Forward Alan Gordon return from his left groin strain, subbing on for the last 11 minutes of the game. San Jose next plays FC Dallas away on Saturday.
Yesterday Dallas head coach Oscar Pareja told Soccerly that George John “started jogging already.” John has yet to play this season and has been joined in the treatment room by a long list of teammates. Dallas is hoping to get past this injury crisis and snap its seven-game losing streak this Saturday against San Jose.
On Friday CJ Sapong subbed on in the 86th minute of Sporting KC’s 2-2 draw with Toronto FC. The forward spent all of April and most of May recovering from a neck and back strain carried over from last season. Sapong did not come off the bench for Tuesday’s 1-1 draw with New York and will next get a chance to play when SKC travels to D.C. United on Saturday.
Nick Kariuki writes both the ASN Injury Report and the MLS Roundup every week. Follow him on Twitter.
