Atlanta United defender Franco Escobar is questionable and goalkeeper Alec Kann is out for Wednesday’s game against Sporting KC at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Escobar suffered what the team is describing as a thorax injury after colliding with goalkeeper Brad Guzan in the second half of last week’s 2-1 win at Chicago.
Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino said there’s a “decent” chance some starters will be rested on Wednesday. He didn’t say which starters. The team has an Eastern Conference showdown with Orlando, winners of six consecutive, on Sunday in Florida.
Escobar suffered a concussion in the third week of the season. That also came after colliding with Guzan. Should Escobar not be able to play, Martino will likely use Chris McCann, who didn’t play in last week’s win at Chicago because of a tight hamstring. McCann has six starts as a defender this season. He is not included on this week’s injury report, but wasn’t for the Chicago game either. He wasn’t among a group of players that started Tuesday’s training session.
If neither Escobar nor McCann can play, Martino could turn to either Miles Robinson, who has one start this season and came off the bench late against Chicago, or Sal Zizzo, an MLS veteran. Captain Michael Parkhurst said whoever plays won’t change what Atlanta United will do.
“That’s the benefit of having such a deep team and getting guys experience,” Parkhurst said. “It’s important and we are going to need guys throughout the season. Guys need to be ready and that’s why they are training hard.”
Kann, normally the backup to Guzan, is recovering from a knee injury. Kann didn’t travel with the team last week. Paul Christensen served as the No. 2 goalkeeper and will likely do so again on Wednesday.
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