TORONTO — Toronto FC defender Adrian Cann is out for the rest of the season after he suffered a torn ACL in his right knee during training on Tuesday morning.
“I can confirm that Adrian has torn his ACL and will miss the rest of the season,” said Toronto FC head coach Aaron Winter. “It is a disappointment because Adrian has had a good start to the season and has been playing well, we will certainly miss his presence in the lineup.
“While it is difficult, we do have players on the roster that are capable of stepping up such as Nana Attakora.”
Cann played 988 minutes and was in the starting lineup for all 12 matches in which he played this year. He did not play in this past Saturday’s 6-2 loss to the Philadelphia Union. This is his second season with TFC, joining the team as a free agent on April 12, 2010. He started 26 games and was the team’s MVP in 2010. He has earned six caps for the Canadian national team during his career.
The 30-year-old caught his foot on the turf and went down in pain during Tuesday’s session at Cherry Beach. He was helped off the field and later appeared at the sideline with crutches and an inflatable cast on his right knee.
The center back was then carried across the field to the parking lot to be transported to hospital, where he was diagnosed with the injury.
WATCH: Cann carried off the field
Until then, it had been an encouraging training session for TFC in the aftermath of Saturday’s thrashing.
“The training today went very well,” Winter said.
The new development adds to the challenge of putting a team together. Defender Dicoy Williams will be missing from TFC’s lineup on Saturday against Sporting Kansas City as Jamaica prepare to kick off their CONCACAF Gold Cup campaign.
That may force Winter to turn to center back Nana Attakora, who could work with Ty Harden. There may also be consideration to using 18-year-old Doneil Henry, who has yet to play for the first team this season.
Mikael Yourassowsky, meanwhile, has been used at left back and in midfield thus far, but he did play a little center back in preseason.
“It’s always a challenge,” Winter said about putting together a lineup. ”Now we have five days more to practice very well, to prepare ourselves for the game on Saturday.”
The club did, however, get some good news on Alan Gordon, who has been out with a groin injury. The forward is making progress but said it was about 50-50 whether he would be able to play on Saturday.
