Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said the team would spend Tuesday's and Wednesday's training sessions trying to solve who will replace injured striker Josef Martinez, who will miss the next 4-6 weeks after sustaining an injured quadriceps in his left leg while playing for the Venezuelan national team last week.
The MLS expansion team announced Martinez’s diagnosis Tuesday. He leads MLS in goals scored with five, almost half of Atlanta United’s 11 this season. Martinez is expected to miss the team’s four-game road stretch that starts at Seattle on Friday and includes games at Toronto, Montreal and Real Salt Lake. He could return as early as the next home against D.C. United on April 30.
“Being in soccer for so many years you get used to injuries,” Martino said. “For us, at first it’s unfortunate, but at the same time we have to keep thinking about our team. We have players who are capable of substituting for Joseph.”
Martino said he would watch one of those players, Kenwyne Jones, who may play for Trinidad and Tobago in its World Cup qualifier against Mexico on Tuesday. Another option is Brandon Vazquez, who has a similar skill set as Jones, who is a more of a bigger, target forward. Martinez has the strength to be a target forward, but also the speed to run into the spaces between defenders. A like-for-like switch may not happen.
Martino said Tuesday that the team could also play with a “false nine,” which is a formation that doesn’t include a traditional striker who stretches the field. It’s a tactic Martino sometimes used when he managed Barcelona.
“We know we have guys who have different skill sets than Joseph or Kenwyne,” he said. “So that’s a possibility.”
The theme that Martino and defenders Leandro Pirez and Tyrone Mears continued to hit on Tuesday before training was that while losing Martinez isn’t good, the roster has enough quality that there are options.
“It’s difficult,” Mears said. “Joseph has been great. We saw his talent in preseason. Personally, I knew he was going to score a lot of goals in this season. Certainly in this league, this conference, he’s one of the top strikers. He’s only had a few games, but he will definitely be considered that at the end of the season. I have no doubts about that.
“He will be a big loss. But we have other players who can come in. That’s the good thing about this team. The squad’s really strong.”
The team will have each of its players who are with their national teams, which includes Miguel Almiron (Paraguay) and Carlos Carmona (Chile), back for the game against Seattle. Whether Martino selects them may depend upon if they play Tuesday. Paraguay will face Brazil and Chile will face Venezuela.
Just as Atlanta United will definitely not have at least one of its starters, Seattle may have the same issue. Five of its players were called into duty with their national teams. Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris were called up by the U.S., Roman Torres is with Panama, Joevin Jones is with Trinidad and Tobago and Nicolas Lodeiro is with Uruguay. All five players are starters for the Sounders.
“They are the champions from last year,” Martino said. “We know they are a strong side. I think it’ll be a very up and down game. I think it will be an exciting game for the people to watch. Two teams that want to play their unique way.”
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