UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – It appears the fears surrounding Jamison Olave’s health can be put to rest.
New York Red Bulls head coach Mike Petke said Thursday morning that the left knee injury his big center back sustained in the first half of the Red Bulls’ 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City on Wednesday did not appear to be too serious.
Petke added that Olave’s knee felt better on Thursday than the hulking center back thought it would and it reacted better than the medical staff expected, but that Olave would still undergo an MRI to ensure there is no real damage.
“It’s not as bad as we thought,” Petke said after the light session at Montclair State University on Thursday morning. “I believe it’s just a hyperextension, sort of, so I’m going to get the final diagnosis [later]. I believe he is getting an MRI just to clarify everything, but I don’t think it’s bad as we thought.”
Petke would not rule the 31-year-old Olave out of Saturday’s home game against the New England Revolution, saying it was too early to make a decision on the hulking center back.
“I was told both things – that he would be out or there’s a possibility he could play,” said Petke. “The MRI is going to tell everything.”
According to Petke, Olave sustained the knock around the half-hour mark against Sporting on Wednesday during a tackle or by falling over the ball. Olave, the Red Bulls’ leading goalscorer this season, then limped off the field with the help of a trainer before being replaced by Heath Pearce.
