The big news around Major League Soccer Wednesday was the transfer of budding superstar Jozy Altidore to La Liga runners-up Villarreal.
But Red Bulls fans hoping Thursday night's match against Chivas USA will serve as a testimonial or a last hurrah for the 18-year-old forward might need to think again. Altidore suffered a left ankle contusion in training Monday after battling for a ball with Juan Pablo Angel.
Altidore, who was carted off the field at Montclair State University late in the session, also didn't train on Tuesday or Wednesday. Judging by the way Red Bulls coach Juan Carlos Osorio has handled his injured players, it would seem very unlikely that Altidore would step on the field at Giants Stadium against Chivas.
Claudio Reyna also didn't train all week. The result of a Monday MRI was that the veteran midfielder was suffering from a herniated disc in his back, causing him to feel pain in his hamstring.
Angel knows how Reyna feels. A nerve-related lower back injury has caused constant pain in his hamstring. He's played with the pain for several weeks, although he missed last Saturday's 1-0 loss at Houston because of a virus he picked up from his son.
"The hamstring problem is still there," Angel said. "I haven't been able to get rid of it. In the games that I've played, I'm still feeling it. I've been playing with the pain and I'm working on it every day."
The most frustrating part for Angel is that there is no tangible timetable for the pain to subside, even after receiving a cortisone shot.
"That is probably the hardest thing," he said. "We took MRIs on the hamstring and it showed no injury on it, but the pain is there. They say it's coming from my back so hopefully with treatment and things it will go away."
Seth Stammler returned to the Red Bulls lineup against Dynamo after missing three games with his own back-related injury. The defensive midfielder said his back held up after playing 90 minutes. His only concern was his fitness.
"I started to feel my legs with a few minutes left in the second half," Stammler said. "I realized I had to put some time in this week and try to get that fitness back."
Dave van den Bergh also didn't play against Houston. His back is fine, though. The Dutch midfielder stayed home because his wife was scheduled to give birth to their second son over the weekend. That finally happened Monday when Max Daniel van den Bergh was born. The proud papa trained Wednesday and is expected to play against the Red-and-White.
Rookie Luke Sassano also returned to training Wednesday, but is listed as questionable with a left toe injury.
Whoever Juan Carlos Osorio sends to the field will try and put a halt to a two-game losing streak, while attempting to cool down a Chivas team that has won three in a row.
In my opinion they have one of the best players in the league in (Sacha) Kljestan and I think they also have experience with (Jesse) Marsch," Osorio said. "They are a good team, plenty of confidence. I think they play good football."
Despite his team losing a second consecutive game, Osorio said his team's effort was much improved from the 5-1 home drubbing against Chicago.
"There's no other thing in the world that I hate more than to lose, but during the whole week after the previous game I kept repeating myself to the players," Osorio said. "I was asking for good performance and a great effort as we have previously done for seven games. I think the guys showed me that."
To halt a three-game winless streak, the Red Bulls will need to possess the ball much better than they did against Houston Saturday and that, perhaps, is where they'll miss Reyna the most.
The Red Bulls will also have to find a way to defend set pieces better. The Dynamo's lone goal, a sliding poke in of a rolling cross by Brian Ching, started with a quickly taken free kick.
Giving up set-piece goals is a trend the Red Bulls are trying to rectify.
"The play stops and people kind of tune out a little bit," Jon Conway said. "Obviously I think that's part of the problem. I can yell until I'm blue in the face, but unless they're tuned into the situation it's just hot air."
Dylan Butler is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
