CHESTER, Penn. – The New York Red Bulls have not spoken to center back Wilman Conde about his recent arrest, but they plan to do so soon.
Red Bulls general manager Erik Soler spoke to the media about the incident following the club’s 3-2 win over the Philadelphia Union at PPL Park on Sunday, and he revealed the Red Bulls have yet to speak to Conde about an alleged assault involving a police officer on Saturday morning.
“We made the decision immediately yesterday to focus on this game, get this game over with and then we’ll do that [on Monday],” Soler told reporters. “At the moment I don’t know any more than you do. We’ll listen to what he has to say. We’ll look at the police report.”
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When asked if Conde had made an effort to try and reach out to explain what had transpired, Soler said the Red Bulls instead chose to focus on Sunday’s match.
“All we did was close that door immediately,” Soler said. “This is a very important game and that’s where we’re at now.”
Conde is expected to return to the practice field this week after missing the last several games due to a groin injury, but Soler said there were no intentions of playing him against the Montreal Impact next weekend due to the turf field at Olympic Stadium.
“That decision was made a long time ago,” said Soler. “You don’t send a player that comes directly from injury on that turf.”
As far as when Conde might return to the NYRB lineup, Soler was non-committal. The 29-year-old's last appearance in a NYRB uniform came on March 31 against Montreal.
“We expect [him to be back soon],” Soler said. “But we don’t know anything more than you guys on what happened, and we have to figure that out.”
