The Atlanta Journal-Constitution
Nagbe out 2-3 months with injury
United All-Star midfielder hurt right abductor during draw with Portland.
Atlanta United midfielder Darlington Nagbe is expected to miss 2-3 months because of an injury to his right abductor.
The injury happened in the second half of Sunday’s 1-1 draw with Portland.
Atlanta United will host Orlando on Saturday before traveling to Dallas for a game on the Fourth of July and then will be at Portland on July 7.
The midfielder, recently voted an MLS All-Star, could return in time for the run up to the playoffs in October should he miss three months.
Later Tuesday, the United signed Argentinian midfielder Eric Remedi, who won’t be eligible to play for the Five Stripes until the transfer window opens July 10. Financial terms of the acquisition weren’t disclosed.
Remedi, 23, played for Banfield in Argentina since 2015. He can play as a central midfielder or centerback. He likely wouldn’t be considered a like-for-like replacement for the injured Nagbe.
Atlanta United has been pursuing a central midfielder since January when it sold Carlos Carmona to Colo-Colo in Chile.
Nagbe, 27, was acquired by Atlanta United in December in a trade from Portland, which he helped lead to the MLS Cup in 2015. He was brought to be a box-to-box midfielder, linking defense to offense with his dribbling and passing ability. Though he has yet to score and has just three assists, his play has helped the Five Stripes lead MLS in points (34) and goals (34) this season. Because of his dependability and durability, Nagbe led Atlanta United in playing time, missing just 40 minutes and 13 seconds of the entire season.
“He’s been very important for us this season,” captain Michael Parkhurst said Sunday. “He does a lot of things that probably go unnoticed especially with some of the bigger names on the team getting the headlines. He doesn’t have a ton of stats, but he does a lot of work with Jeff (Larentowicz) in the middle. He’s just such a good twoway player, really connects the team defensively to offensively. Possession-wise, he’s so important for us because he doesn’t lose the ball.”
Manager Gerardo Martino said Sunday, before knowing Nagbe’s diagnosis, he has several options should the midfielder miss time.
The first is to move Julian Gressel from the right side of the formation into the middle. His position as a right wingback or right midfielder could be filled with either Sal Zizzo as a fullback, or Hector Villalba or Brandon Vazquez as a midfielder.
Kevin Kratz could also slide into Nagbe’s role, which would minimize the number of personnel changes within the formation.
“He (Kratz) brings a little bit of a different look in there,” fullback Mikey Ambrose said. “I thought he played well and he does well to connect everything. We lose a little bit, but we gain a little bit but either way, they’re both good players.”