HARRISON, N.J. — You know you’re a superstar when you’re not even in the stadium and you’re still the dominant topic of conversation.
Following Manchester United’s 4-0 win over the MLS All-Stars on Wednesday night, Sir Alex Ferguson received more questions on the status of Javier “Chicharito” Hernández than any other topic.
“He got a concussion yesterday in training and we dealt with that, we took him to the hospital,” Ferguson said. “He had scans. He’s cleared and he’s back in his hotel.”
The injury, which forced the Mexican superstar to spend Tuesday night in a New York area hospital, was a major talking point after it became public in the hours leading up to the All-Star Game. He was released on Wednesday, but Ferguson indicated that Chicharito would not be available for Saturday’s highly anticipated Herbalife World Football Challenge match against FC Barcelona at FedEx Field (7 pm ET, ESPN2/Deportes/GolTV Canada).
“He’ll be out for a couple of weeks,” Ferguson said. “Saying that, he wouldn’t have been playing for a couple of weeks anyway. He’s coming back from his break after playing in the Gold Cup for Mexico, and he was not going to be involved in our team for two or three weeks anyway.”
MLSsoccer.com reporters were at United’s final prematch training on Tuesday, and reported that Chicharito came through the full training and walked off the field afterward without assistance. The United manager, however, revealed how it was that Hernández received the concussion.
“The ball hit the top of his head,” Ferguson said. “Just like that, yeah.”
Hernández has been cleared to travel and will join the team tomorrow for their trip to Washington, D.C., ahead of the rematch of the UEFA Champions League final, for which, Ferguson said, Hernández “would never have been available for anyway.”
MLS All-Star forward Omar Bravo was concerned enough about his former CD Guadalajara teammate that even he was inquiring about his health.
“I have not spoken to him,” Bravo said after the match. “I spoke to players from Manchester and they say that he’s well. That there’s no problem.”
