The dust has settled from rivalry week, which for the Red Bulls also included a victory over the Cosmos in the U.S. Open Cup. The focus now turns back to the grind of the regular season, and that begins tonight with an Independence Day game against the Crew in Columbus, Ohio.
The talk of training the past few days has been the injury to defender Chris Duvall, who broke his tibia in a collision with Cosmos defender Hunter Gorskie while both slid in to try and get possession of the ball. Duvall underwent surgery Thursday, and while Red Bulls coach Jesse Marsch said it was successful, Duvall’s recovery period is three to four months, which will likely keep him out the remainder of the season.
The injury compounds a problem the Red Bulls were already facing. Having lost left backs Kemar Lawrence (Jamaica) and Roy Miller (Costa Rica) and center back Karl Ouimette (Canada) to the CONCACAF Gold Cup, and the recurrence of an injury to center back Ronald Zubar, the team is severely short on the back line.
“We’re a little thin in the back right now. Those are the facts,” Marsch admitted. “We’re going to require our guys to dig in and now make sure that our defenders are ready to put in some minutes and get us through the next few games until after the Gold Cup until we get some guys back. And then we’ll have to create some flexibility with certain the guys, maybe look at (midfielder) Sean Davis in one of the outside back positions. We’re going to look at different guys and see what they can provide us.
“It’s not an easy moment for our club and our team, but we’ll get through it.”
Zubar, who missed most of the season with a hamstring injury suffered in the opening game, came back and played well, so now the team is taking a cautious approach to avoid further setbacks.
“It started as a hamstring injury, and as he started to come back it turned into a quad injury,” Marsch said. “It’s important not to have any more setbacks. That’s why he’s going to France to see a specialist. He’ll be back in a few weeks.”
Zubar’s injury comes amid reports that Miller sprained his ankle training with Costa Rica, although the Red Bulls have yet to learn the severity of the injury.
That leaves a back line that will likely consist of Connor Lade, Matt Miazga, Damien Perrinelle and Anthony Wallace, with very little flexibility or depth. Marsch believes Lade, who had a rough game against the Cosmos, is ready for the challenge.
“The thing I’ve known about Connor before I came, and then that I’ve grown to appreciate since I came here, is that he’s not afraid that when he steps on the field he’s a competitor and he’s up to the task,” Marsch said. “He’s shown that when he’s been called on here he continues to be an important guy, not just for his play but even his personality within the team. Connor now becomes an important guy and has to show that he’s ready for this challenge, and I know he will be.”
And then there’s the issue of fatigue. This is the third game this week and players are struggling after two emotional and physical games against New York City FC and the Cosmos.
“The guys that we have to look at are Dax (McCarty), (Anatole) Abang and the center backs and see where they’re at,” Marsch said. “They’re each a little bit different and we’re going to use a rotation again, but we’re going to put a good team on the field again, so we’ll be ready to go.”
As for the Crew, which the Red Bulls defeated, 2-1, in the third game of the season, also in Ohio, Marsch only sees improvement.
“They’ve just gotten sharper,” he said. “They stick to how they play, they spread the field. It’s a version of what the Cosmos do, but better. It tests the way we play so it will be another good challenge of contrasting styles. They like to spread the field and see if they can find spacing and passing and create advantages, and we like to compress the field and see if we can win the ball and play direct, so we’ll see how it goes.
