Whitecaps’ Laba faces surgery; out for season
VANCOUVER — Vancouver Whitecaps head coach Carl Robinson’s facial expression suggested he knew immediately Matias Laba’s injury was serious.
Robinson’s post-match comments did nothing to the dispel any worry, and the club’s fears were confirmed publicly with the announcement Laba will miss somewhere in the neighbourhood of nine months of soccer after tearing the anterior cruciate ligament in his right knee during Saturday’s 1-0 road loss to the New England Revolution.
“Gutted. Gutted for the boy,” Robinson said after Tuesday’s practice back in Vancouver. “He has been brilliant for the club and for me since I brought him here.
“We will look after the boy. We’ll help him rehab. He’s a massive part of this football club.”
Laba crumpled to the turf in Foxborough, Massachusetts, for a second time in the first half against the Revolution, signalling to the bench he needed assistance before being subbed off for Andrew Jacobson in the 29th minute.
“He has been in what, 10,000 tackles in the time he’s been with the Whitecaps?” said goalkeeper David Ousted, who was on the bench in New England. “That, I’ve never seen from him. You knew it was bad.”
The 25-year designated player is expected to undergo surgery within the next two weeks.
“Football kicks you in the teeth when you least expect it,” said Robinson. “It usually kicks people — good people — in the teeth, and that was my concern.
“When he stays down, there’s usually a reason.”
A fearless pit bull in the middle of the park whose main job is to protect the Whitecaps’ backline, Laba joined Vancouver in a trade with Toronto FC before the 2014 campaign. He started 23 games in all competitions in 2017.
According to the MLS Players Union, Laba is on the books for $885,500 US this season — second highest on the team behind striker Fredy Montero.
In terms of immediate replacements in defensive midfield, Robinson’s options include Jacobson, Canadian international Russell Teibert, and the newly acquired duo of Aly Ghazal and Aaron Maund.
The Whitecaps host the Houston Dynamo on Saturday.