FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England have signed recent trialist Otto Loewy to a contract, the Revolution announced on Thursday.
Loewy, 23, landed his first MLS deal by impressing the Revolution technical staff during a stint with the club in Kennesaw, Ga., earlier this month.
The contract concludes the former Winthrop star's long and winding road to MLS. Loewy looked set to make the leap after his senior season in college in 2008, but he missed out on the 2009 MLS Player Combine after fracturing his lower right leg in a NCAA Tournament game against William and Mary on Nov. 11, 2008, and went undrafted.
After setting aside most of 2009 to recover from his injury, he failed to earn a contract with D.C. United during a training camp stint with the club last year.
The Monrovia, Liberia, native and US green-card holder finally earned his shot in MLS after establishing his credentials with the Revs earlier this month as a potential option in central defense.
“Otto performed well during his trial with us in Georgia,” Revolution vice president of player personnel Michael Burns said in a press release. “He’s a strong player and will provide added depth along our backline this season.”
All quiet on the Lekic front
No further word has emanated from the Revolution camp this week about a potential transfer move for Silkeborg IF striker Rajko Lekic.
Lekic joined the Revolution for a two-day trial last week and subsequently returned to Denmark to prepare for Silkeborg’s Sunday clash against Danish giants Brøndby.
Several reports from Danish website Tipsbladet have indicated that the two clubs are close to agreeing to a deal that would see the 29-year-old striker move to the United States, but official confirmation of the deal has yet to surface.
[inline_node:332476]Injury wait continues for several regulars
Four projected starters found themselves marooned on Tuesday's injury report as they hoped to recover in time to feature against the Portland Timbers on Saturday. (7:30 pm ET, Direct Kick and Matchday Live)
Franco Coria (left hamstring strain) appeared the least likely to play against the Timbers after being listed as out, while there appeared to be some hope for the likes of Ousmane Dabo (doubtful – right quadriceps strain), Marko Perovic (doubtful – left hamstring strain) and Matt Reis (questionable – right adductor strain).
“It's a day-by-day situation,” Revolution assistant coach Stephen Myles told MLSsoccer.com on Wednesday. “In all honesty, it doesn't help when the nights are freezing and people are always susceptible to pulls when it is that cold. Hopefully, we'll have them back as quickly as possible. They're an integral part of the team. We'll see how it goes.”
Mansally set to return for Portland match
Revolution midfielder Kenny Mansally spent most of Thursday in Madrid, Spain, as he plotted his return to New England in time for the match against the Timbers.
Gambia coach Paul Put included Mansally in his squad for Tuesday's 1-0 defeat in Equatorial Guinea, but Mansally is expected to return to the Boston area on Friday and could feature in the squad for Saturday's match against the Timbers.
