Araujo to miss at least 4 weeks

Hamstring injury suffered in opener sidelines star winger.

Atlanta United’s Luiz Araujo is expected to miss at least the next four weeks of MLS games after suffering a hamstring injury in Sunday’s 3-1 win against Sporting KC.

Araujo, a winger and one of the team’s three Designated Players, sustained the injury just before or after scoring the opening goal in the 20th minute. He was subbed out six minutes later. The team didn’t specify if the injury is a hamstring strain or tear in a statement.

Araujo will miss Saturday’s game at Colorado and home games against Charlotte and Montreal on March 13 and 19, and possibly the April 2 game at D.C. United.

“I feel sad for him and I think all the teammates feel for him and he’s a really important player for us,” teammate and fellow Brazilian Matheus Rossetto said Tuesday. “So we’re just trying to give him, you know, positive encouragement and positive energy so he can have a full recovery.”

Araujo was bought by Atlanta United last season after he helped Lille win France’s Ligue 1 and qualify for the Champions League. He scored four goals with four assists in 15 appearances for the Five Stripes.

Speaking after Sunday’s season-opening win, manager Gonzalo Pineda said the team had numerous options if Araujo were

unavailable. Among those are Dom Dwyer, Brooks Lennon, Marcelino Moreno and Tyler Wolff. But few of those players have Araujo’s combination of dribbling skill, passing vision and shooting accuracy.

Without Araujo, the team may have just one DP, Josef Martinez, available for Saturday’s game at Colorado. Thiago Almada, signed last month, missed Tuesday’s training session because he is in Argentina securing his visa. Also missing Tuesday were midfielders Santiago Sosa and Franco Ibarra.

Luis Araujo