Armas’ Injury Is Far-Reaching
On Tuesday, about an hour after the U.S. Olympic soccer team had been named, Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid was asked if he thought the 18 players might approach the next few weeks with undue caution.
After all, why risk injury in a Major League Soccer game when a trip to Sydney has been secured?
“I think whenever you play under the fear of being injured or you play in a way that you don’t want to get hurt, that’s when you get hurt,” he said. “I think you’ve just got to go out there and play like normal and let the chips fall where they may.”
No sooner had he said that when U.S. national and Olympic team midfielder Chris Armas of the Chicago Fire was injured Wednesday during the Americans’ 7-0 World Cup qualifying victory over Barbados.
Depending on the seriousness of the injury, the ramifications could be significant--to the national team, to the Olympic team, to the Fire and to the Galaxy, which plays Chicago today at Soldier Field.
Armas, a former Galaxy player, initially was diagnosed with a grade 1 sprain to the medial collateral ligament in his left knee, the result of a hard tackle that caused Barbados’ Eric Lavine to be ejected from the game.
U.S. Coach Bruce Arena hoped for the best.
“I’m no doctor, but we are hopeful that it’s a slight sprain and hopefully he can be back in three weeks,” Arena said. “That would be the conservative estimate. It could be six weeks, nine weeks or 12 weeks. We’re hoping that it’s certainly the three-week prediction.”
Armas who walked off the field under his own power, also tried to remain upbeat.
“I’m hoping to make it to the Olympics,” he told the Chicago Tribune. “It’s going to be close.”
Armas, who turns 28 on Aug. 27, is considered the best defensive midfielder in the U.S. He underwent an MRI exam Thursday and the results showed a grade 2 MCL sprain, with the probability of his being sidelined three to six weeks.
The likelihood is that, at the very least, he will miss the remainder of the MLS regular season, as well as the U.S.-Guatemala World Cup qualifying match Sept. 3.
The Olympic team leaves for Australia on Sept. 6.
Should Armas be forced to miss the Summer Games, it is possible that the Galaxy’s Sasha Victorine could be Coach Clive Charles’ choice as a replacement.
“I’m named as an alternate,” Victorine said. “I talked to Clive on Saturday [before the Olympic team was named] and he said odds are if anybody gets hurt in the attacking part of the team I would be called in.”
Victorine has been playing as a forward most recently for the Galaxy, which makes it unlikely that he would be called in as a defensive midfielder, although he can play the position.
Meanwhile, today’s match features three other U.S. Olympic team players who, consciously or not, will be trying to avoid injury--Galaxy midfielder Peter Vagenas and Fire defender Evan Whitfield and forward Josh Wolff.
The teams play again on Wednesday at 7:30 p.m. at Cal State Fullerton in the semifinals of the U.S. Open Cup.
Wolff put Chicago there with a club-record four goals in a recent quarterfinal blitz of the Dallas Burn.
Wolff said this week that there are drawbacks to being picked for the Olympics at a time when the MLS playoffs will be starting.
“Obviously that’s the one down side of making the Olympic team, you are leaving your [MLS] team at a crucial time, especially when we are a bit low on numbers right now,” he said.
Around the MLS
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