Top Stories

Henry and Nesta to miss Impact-Red Bulls match on Saturday

Thierry Henry

By DAN KARELL

With the Montreal Impact’s hot start and the superstar names on the New York Red Bulls, one might have expected a game filled with goals, cameras flashing, and a match that would be a perfect advertisement for Major League Soccer.

Instead, injuries have clouded the bright lights that were shining on Quebec’s largest city.

Montreal assistant coach Mauro Bello announced on Tuesday that starting defender Alessandro Nesta would be out for 15-20 days, while the Red Bulls announced that captain Thierry Henry suffered a sprained MCL, ruling him out for at least Saturday’s match, if not more.

“It was one of those things that I was very seriously leaning towards not even bringing him to Montreal, but no decision was final yet because we had a week from the D.C. game to the next game,” Red Bulls coach Petke said. “But this is very ideal for me not to have him play on turf with his Achilles’ tendon.

“It’s not ideally how it worked out but it did work out.”

The two teams met last July for the first time in MLS, when Nesta made his competitive debut for Montreal in a 3-1 win for the Canadian side. The injury news comes on Nesta’s 37th birthday.

Both Montreal and New York were already set to miss players for this Saturday’s match. Tim Cahill (Australia) and Roy Miller (Costa Rica) were called up from the Red Bulls, and Sanna Nyassi (Gambia) was called up from Montreal.

In other news from Red Bulls camp,  Petke has said that Juninho will play, but he has not disclosed whether the 38-year-old Brazilian will start. The match on Saturday will be played in Montreal’s Olympic Stadium, which has a turf playing surface. It will be the Red Bull’s second turf match of the early season.

What do you think of this news?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. Fantasy killers these two and then throw in other Concocaf players missing this next weekends game and a lot of people are going to be screwed. Otherwise I like Montreal to win this one. Will Cahill be out on international duty for Australia? If so then Montreal takes this one for sure in a low scoring affair.

    Reply
  2. It’s hard to keep healthy after 36 yrs of age. In soccer some players can, Ryan Giggs comes to mind. Hopefully these two can recover quickly and start contributing again.

    Reply
  3. The only perfect advertisement for MLS would be to fill the stands with topless DD babes. Anything else will be ignored.

    Hell, even the local NY metro afiliate decided that four hours of men in kilts and old folks in green shirts walking down the street was a better option for broadcast than the NY/DC match on Saturday.

    Reply
    • Pathetic only describes your comment. Most reasonably enlightened (north) Americans have a clue about the climate in Montreal in March, and understand why they cannot play at Stade Saputo until mid to late April each year. This is a picture of the snowstorm we had in Montreal today: http://pics.lockerz.com/s/287549052 Get a life…’

      Reply
      • Then why didnt Montreal build a better stadium? Its nothing but a glorified high school stadium with a roof

        Build a stadium with a retractible roof

      • Briiliant – what a typical American (republican) attitude: just throw a sh!tload of public funds at it, and build a magnificent structure on the backs of the poor bastards who can’t afford to attend a game.

        The Saputo family built Saputo stadium as a SSS with primarily private funds and requiring a strict budget given that only ~20 games of 20k attendance will be played there each year (e.g. minor league type revenue streams).

        In fact, it is a great place to see a soccer game… outdoors. We have the ‘Big Owe’ for March and November games.

      • And the Canadians do not throw a sh!tload of public funds at things—ever get around to paying off the bonds on that monstrosity called Olympic Stadium? Actually I think so, after decades of payments on the backs of the poor bastards who can’t afford to attend a game at one of the worst stadiums ever built (loved what looked like garbage bags on the leaky roof back when the Expos played there).

Leave a Comment