Knee Injury Forces Pena to Endure Waiting Game

Danny Pena was standing in the Galaxy locker room at the Rose Bowl the other day, wearing a brace on his leg and a long look on his face.

With the team about to leave on a nine-day, three-game trip--the Galaxy plays defending Major League Soccer champion Washington D.C. United tonight at RFK Stadium--all Pena, 32, had to look forward to was rehabilitation work on the sprained right knee that has kept him out of action since early this month.

It didn’t sit well with the veteran defensive midfielder, who has long been a key to the Galaxy’s success.

Pena might be back in time for the Galaxy’s game July 4 against the Columbus Crew at the Rose Bowl, but doesn’t want to rush his return.

“It’s a situation where I almost feel like I can play, but maybe it’s not in my best interests to play,” he said. “I’m sitting on the bench feeling like I’m letting [everyone] down, but at the same time they know me.

“I’m getting a lot of support from my teammates and the coaching staff. . . . They know I’m working hard to get back to where I need to be. Not being out there is the worst feeling you can imagine.”

It’s also a bit of a problem for Galaxy Coach Sigi Schmid.

“Danny’s an experienced player,” said Schmid, who has been starting rookies Sasha Victorine and Peter Vagenas in place of Pena and Simon Elliott, who is in Tahiti playing for New Zealand in the Oceania Nations Cup. Another rookie, Danny Califf, has been starting in defense.

“They’re all rookies who I think can play in this league, but it’s still three first-year players,” Schmid said. “I think there’s a huge improvement when you’re in the pros from your first year to your second year. You just become a little cagier, a little more routined, a little more experienced.

“So from that standpoint, missing Danny and Simon is certainly important.”

Elliott should be back for Saturday’s game against the Burn in Dallas but without its starting defensive midfielders, the Galaxy offense has suffered. It means there is no real base from which to launch attacking plays. Playmaker Mauricio Cienfuegos is not having his best season and the loss of Clint Mathis and Roy Myers in the deal that brought Luis Hernandez to the Galaxy has robbed the team of offensive options.

There used to be a pattern to the Galaxy’s play--indeed, a variety of changing patterns--but now Los Angeles seems reduced to playing kick and run.

“As depleted as our team has been, that makes it even tougher [being sidelined],” Pena said. “I don’t think over the last two months we’ve ever been at full strength, nor have we had the same lineup.

“I think the young players have done a good job, they’re definitely gaining valuable experience. But by the same token, other players I don’t think are necessarily stepping up, player who we need to step up.”

Tonight, they get another chance.

*

Luis Hernandez faces a possible fine for postgame incidents he was involved in Saturday night in Kansas City, but the Mexican striker will not be suspended from tonight’s Galaxy game against D.C. United.

“If there is going to be a suspension, obviously that decision would have to be made really quickly,” Ivan Gazidis, Major League Soccer’s executive vice president, said Tuesday afternoon. “But I don’t think that’s really in the cards, with respect to what we’ve seen and been told.

“I certainly think there could be fines that come out of that, but I don’t think a suspension is in the realm of what we’re discussing.”

Hernandez was accused of spitting on several Kansas City Wizard players in a melee after the Galaxy’s 2-0 loss at Arrowhead Stadium. He said he did not recall having spit.

“I’ve seen the videotape of the incident itself,” Gazidis said. “Joe Machnick [the league’s head of officiating] will be reviewing that. We’re also looking at some angles that were not shown on the TV cameras and getting some reports from people who were present at whatever it is that happened.

“As soon as we’ve done a full and thorough investigation, we will reach a decision. There could be consequences but there may not be. It’s difficult to tell from the tape, really, what happened. But if we are able to determine that and there’s something that needs to be done, we won’t shy from doing it.”

Gazidis also said the league is well aware of Hernandez’s desire to play in Europe and is not taken aback by it.

“The statements [by Hernandez] about wanting to go to Europe are no surprise to me,” he said. “That’s been a part of the arrangement that we’ve had from Day 1, which is that Luis Hernandez has signed for three years with MLS but will play during our off-season until the end of the European season in Europe. That’s certainly one of the challenges Luis was looking for.”

Regarding Galaxy forward Cobi Jones, whose contract expires at the end of this season and who has asked for a five-year, $5-million deal from MLS, Gazidis said the league will try to reach an agreement with the player. Jones has said that he would like to play in Europe.

“We’re in discussions with Cobi’s agent,” Gazidis said. “I don’t like to negotiate contracts in a public forum, so those negotiations will remain confidential, at least as far as I’m concerned.

“We’re hopeful that we’ll reach agreement that will keep Cobi here next year, but that can’t be at any cost. It has to be at a cost that makes sense to us.”