LAFC gets good news on Carlos Vela’s injury
An MRI performed on Monday showed Carlos Vela has a minor injury to his right hamstring. The LAFC captain will continue receiving treatment with his status for Sunday’s MLS game with Minnesota United to be determined later in the week.
The diagnosis was good news for LAFC (a league-best 19-3-5) since missing Vela, who leads MLS with 27 goals, for any length of time could be devastating. Vela came out of Sunday’s 3-3 draw with the Galaxy early in the second half, eight minutes after notching the game-tying goal. The score left him four short of matching Josef Martinez’s year-old league record for goals in a season.
Vela clearly was frustrated at being subbed out of a tie game, ripping off the captain’s armband and throwing it to the ground, then leaving the pitch shouting a pair of profanities at coach Bob Bradley followed by “what are you doing?”
“Obviously he’s a huge competitor so he’s not too happy when he comes off,” Bradley said. “But we’re not gonna take a bigger risk and leave him out there when we know by the reaction that he’s now felt a little something.”
Vela is tied for second in the league with 15 assists, giving him a hand in 42 of his team’s 74 goals. He has started 26 of LAFC’s 27 games and is second on the team in minutes played. LAFC already clinched a playoff berth and could win the Western Conference title Sunday with a victory.
