Pato continues his recovery from injury
Star forward to miss Friday’s match against Sporting KC
After suffering an injury in his debut at Exploria Stadium, Orlando City star Pato will miss Friday’s match in Kansas City.
Coach Oscar Pareja said the striker was in better spirits Wednesday while continuing his recovery from the unspecified lowerbody injury sustained during Saturday’s home opener against Atlanta United. The injury occurred in the 80th minute when Pato’s right knee appeared to buckle under him at an awkward angle.
The injury won’t require surgery, according to the club, but Pareja is emphasizing caution for Pato’s recovery plan.
“Pato has been better,” Pareja said. “We would like to be careful, but so far he is recovering. We are analyzing the right time to bring him back into the competition.”
Pareja said he is also remaining cautious about the return of midfielder Uri Rosell and defender Robin Jansson. Both Rosell and Jansson missed the home opener with unspecified lower-body injuries.
Injuries sidelined Rosell for the latter half of the 2020 campaign, forcing the impactful defensive midfielder to miss the final 14 matches of the regular season. Jansson is typically a stalwart figure for the Lions along the backline, starting all but one match last year.
On Saturday, the impact of both injuries was absorbed by the performance of other players.
Center back Rodrigo Schlegel took over the aggressive, physical style of Jansson at center back, bullying down Atlanta players to defend the clean sheet. Meanwhile, central midfielders Júnior Urso and Sebas Méndez set a high-energy pace to keep the midfield active throughout the match.
Jansson returned to training with the team this week, but Rosell has yet to return to contact drills. However, Pareja said he wouldn’t expect to see either player return to the pitch for Friday’s road match against Sporting Kansas City. Lions tap Georgetown products for senior team
Orlando City pulled up 2021 SuperDraft picks Rio Hope-Gund and Derek Dodson in the weeks leading up to the 2021 season, adding to the depth of the Lions.
Previously teammates with Georgetown, Dodson and Hope-Gund were called away from their senior seasons ahead of the Big East Tournament and NCAA Tournament. Georgetown finished the season ranked No. 2 in the United Soccer Coaches poll after a 7-0-2 regular season.
Both players were crucial to the Hoyas’ success — Hope-Gund served as team captain while Dodson was second on the team in offense with two goals and three assists in the condensed season.
Although Pareja acknowledged the importance of the college season for both players, he said the Lions needed to call upon their draft picks to fortify the depth of the team for the 2021 MLS season.
With key players such as Pato and Jansson suffering injuries early in the season, both players could step up for the Lions.
“We obviously have these incidents that can come from nowhere, but you have to adjust to it,” Pareja said. “Last week we didn’t have Robin, so we needed to add another defender. At that time, we had Rio, so he emerged into the team already.”
After signing a contract with the team April 8, Hope-Gund featured in the Lions’ final preseason match against Minnesota United and made the bench for the home opener. He was challenged by the step up in pace and intensity during that preseason match, but Pareja said he was pleased with the young defender’s performance as a second-half sub.
Although Dodson remains unsigned, Pareja said the team is heavily invested in both players’ futures.
“We want to have them already here, so we can see them, they can train with us and they get used to the rhythm and get used to the change of the coaches and the league,” Pareja said. “We’re excited for their future here in Orlando.”