Photo by isiphotos.com
By JOSE M. ROMERO
Colorado Rapids goalkeeper Matt Pickens will see his 75-match appearance streak end due to a groin injury that will force him out of the club’s final two matches.
Pickens had the longest active streak in MLS before getting injured in Saturday’s game against San Jose. He was replaced in the 69th minute by Stew Ceus.
Rapids coach Oscar Pareja said he doesn’t expect Pickens to play any more this season and will go with Ceus or Ian Joyce in goal the rest of the way for the Rapids, who are out of playoff contention.
Pickens, 30, has a career high 107 saves this season. He also has the record for most consecutive matches played in Rapids’ history.
Here are some more soccer stories making the rounds:
FELLAINI OUT OF WORLD CUP QUALIFIERS
Everton forward Marouane Fellaini has been ruled out of Belgium’s World Cup qualifiers against Serbia and Scotland, and will miss three weeks with a knee injury.
Fellaini was injured in Saturday’s match with Wigan and according to the Belgian Football Association website, suffered a small tear at the juncture between the muscle and tendon.
He’ll miss the international matches plus a league match at Queens Park Rangers and possibly the Liverpool derby Oct. 28.
BARCELONA’S ALVES OUT THREE WEEKS
FC Barcelona defender Dani Alves will miss three weeks with a left thigh injury suffered against Real Madrid in last weekend’s Clasico, and his replacement could very well be Martin Montoya.
Alves will also miss Brazil’s friendlies against Iraq in Sweden and Japan in Poland this coming week.
Montoya is in his first season with the first team and has started three matches and appeared in 15 since joining Barca. The club is 11-2-2 with Montoya on the pitch.
MCCARTHY TO REPLACE COYLE AT BOLTON?
Mick McCarthy is the lead candidate to replace fired manager Owen Coyle at Bolton, according to a report from England.
McCarthy has led two clubs out of the League Championship into the English Premier League, Wolverhampton and Sunderland. Other candidates for the Wanderers job include former Manchester United players Roy Keane and Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
Bolton seeks a return to the EPL to improve its financial situation but is currently 10 points away from promotion after it was relegated to the Championship last season.
RSL-SEATTLE PICKED UP BY NBC SPORTS NETWORK
The Seattle Sounders-Real Salt Lake match on Oct. 17 at CenturyLink Field has been picked up for a national telecast on the NBC Sports Network. It will kick off at 10 p.m. ET.
At present, RSL and Seattle are in second and third place in the Western Conference, so this is an important match for playoff seeding. It is the only MLS match being played on that day.