Atlanta United’s Jay Fortune said ankle is improving

Jay Fortune very much wanted to start Game 3 in what proved to be Atlanta United’s playoff series-clinching win at Inter Miami. An ankle injury sustained in Game 2′s win prevented him from doing so.

Fortune had started 11 of the previous 12 before Game 3 and, with his ability to dribble past defenders or make a crunching tackle, had become an important piece in Atlanta United’s push into the playoffs.

“The end of the day, it’s not just about me,” he said. “I had 100% of the faith in the team that went out onto the field. There was no question about that. You want to play as much as you can, and the team put on a performance without me on the field.”

Fortune came on in the 60th minute and helped seal the victory.

“As the adrenaline kicked in, yeah, couple Tylenols, and I was at a good percentage,” Fortune said of the ankle. “I was I happy going into the game with where I was at. I was confident in how the ankle was feeling, and I told him that if they needed me, I was ready to go. So wasn’t too bad.”

The ankle injury occurred around the 20th minute of Game 2 when he was tackled by Federico Redondo. Fortune didn’t come out until the 89th minute. When the ball was near Fortune, he said he was fine because of adrenaline. When the ball wasn’t near him, he said he hobbled like an old man.

“The next morning was a bit of a struggle,” he said.

The injury played a factor into Fortune not being called into the Trinidad & Tobago national team.

Fortune said the ankle is better. He has been able to complete recent training sessions, which he couldn’t do last week. He said he will continue to undergo treatments to put himself in the best shape to play in the next round at Orlando on Nov. 24.

“I’m happy for us,” he said. “Obviously, we had lots of ups and down the season, lots of changes, and I think we deserve to have this little bit of moment of happiness. But at the end of the day, it’s really important to stay focused on the goal at hand, which is to win the MLS Cup, and it starts one game at a time. So I think we’re past that stage of the celebratory part of the victory against Miami. But right now we’re focused on Orlando.”

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Atlanta United’s 2024 schedule

Feb. 24 Columbus 1, Atlanta United 0

March 9 Atlanta United 4, New England 1

March 17 Atlanta United 2, Orlando 0

March 23 Toronto 2, Atlanta United 0

March 31 Atlanta United 3, Chicago 0

April 6 Atlanta United 1, NYCFC 1

April 14 Atlanta United 2, Philadelphia 2

April 20 Cincinnati 2, Atlanta United 1

April 27 Atlanta United 1, Chicago 1

May 4 Minnesota 2, Atlanta United 1

May 7 Atlanta United 3, Charlotte Independence 0 in U.S. Open Cup