FRISCO, Texas – FC Dallas just can’t seem to escape the injury bug this season, and they’ll return to action this weekend without injured starters Carlos Rodríguez and Kevin Hartman.
Rodríguez suffered a gruesome dislocated elbow in the team’s midweek draw against Real Salt Lake, and will be sidelined two to four weeks. With the Panamanian and a number of others nursing injuries, depth is a concern as the team plays on the road against the LA Galaxy on Saturday (10:30 pm, watch LIVE online).
“I think every coach gets frustrated with the injuries,” said head coach Schellas Hyndman (above). “Unfortunately, it’s part of the game and sometimes it doesn’t seem like it’s fair. As soon as you get one person healthy – we get Scott Sealy healthy and – then we pick up another injury with Jair [Benítez]. Now that he’s back, Carlos is out.”
With Hartman out for a third straight game with a back injury, FC Dallas have been forced to rely on reserve goalkeeper Chris Seitz, who only appeared in two games last season.
“Chris is a solid 'keeper,” Hyndman said. “A couple of years ago he started for Philadelphia, and I think it might have been the wrong place for him – an expansion team giving up a lot of goals. I think mentally he was shocked. We were able to pick him up, and I think he’s finding his confidence.”
FC Dallas could be bolstered by the return of Andrew Jacobson as soon as Saturday, but Hyndman isn’t as optimistic about fellow midfielder Ricardo Villar and his foot injury.
“In training this week, [Jacobson] still didn’t feel 100 percent. When you have a hamstring injury, sometimes you can just push it a little bit too much,” Hyndman said. “Villar is still making progress. I think the original diagnosis of the injury was two to four weeks. I think it’s probably closer to four to six weeks now that we’re looking at it.”
Teenager Top debuts
Homegrown player Jonathan Top made his MLS debut in Wednesday’s 1-1 tie with Real Salt Lake. The 19-year-old performed admirably in 22 minutes as he tried to give his club a spark offensively in the second half.
“It was a great moment for Jon Top,” Hyndman said. “He’s just played so well with the reserve team and the under-20 national team. He had plays with the academy. We felt that through all that hard work and effort, he deserved to dress out. [Sealy] went out, and he was the logical choice to put in.”
