HARRISON, N.J. – The injury bug has found it’s way to Red Bull Arena once again, leaving the Red Bulls to pick up the pieces ahead of Saturday night’s match against the Montreal Impact.
On Tuesday morning, the club announced that Homegrown defender Connor Lade has suffered a torn ACL and will miss the remainder of the 2016. He is the second player in as many seasons to go down with an ACL injury after Damien Perrinelle suffered the same fate in last season’s playoff run.
“We’re all really disappointed for him,” head coach Jesse Marsch told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “He’s really established himself at a high level, and I think that’s the hardest part for him. He’s become a really big piece of our team from a mentality perspective and how he’s performed on the field. We know that he’ll come back strong and ready to go.
“We all feel for him, we’ll miss him, but we’re going to need guys to step up. We need all of our remaining outside backs to fill the void of what he’s meant to our group this year.”
Lade’s impending absence is certainly significant, but the Red Bulls will be buoyed by the return of Kemar Lawrence from his own injury woes. In addition, rookie Justin Bilyeu has shown well in his limited action and could be a vital piece moving forward.
“Kemar coming back is big and Justin has done well with his opportunities. Now, we need Sal [Zizzo] and Chris [Duvall] to continue to push to be sharp.”
Last Sunday’s match with the LA Galaxy proved to be particularly costly, as the aforementioned Perrinelle will also be sidelined for an extended period of time.
“Damien has a 4-6 week ankle injury,” Marsch continued. “He also had a little bit of an issue with his meniscus, so we decided to go in [for surgery] to get that trimmed up. We’re kind of killing two birds with one stone there. Hopefully his timetable is four weeks.”
The injury leaves New York with precious little cover at the centerback position, which could well force Marsch to lean on New York Red Bulls II for cover. Additionally, recalling defender Karl Ouimette from his loan stint with the NASL’s Jacksonville Armada is admittedly an option that could be explored.
“We have to consider everything. We have to look at different options and figure out how to cover for Damien for the next four weeks.”
The final member to exit Sunday’s match, Bradley Wright-Phillips, could be the closest to returning to the pitch. Marsch revealed that his prognosis is unclear, but more will be known in the coming days.
“We’re uncertain as of now,” Marsch added. “He’s getting an MRI this morning. He’s feeling better and we’re hopeful that he’ll be ok, but we’re not sure yet on that one.”
