Photo by Steven Brashear/ISIphotos.com
Never mind the result. The Seattle Sounders may have lost something much more valuable on Sunday.
Forward Eddie Johnson suffered a hamstring injury in the Seattle Sounders’ regular season finale loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy on Sunday night, and the club is now awaiting results from an MRI to determine the severity of it. Johnson sustained the knock late in the first half of Seattle’s 1-0 defeat at the Home Depot Center before being replaced at halftime, leaving Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid and the club’s rabid fan base with serious concern ahead of the start of the playoffs.
“I made a couple long runs early in the game and my hammy kind of tightened up on me,” Johnson told the Seattle Times. “My game is (made up) of making hard runs behind the back four, and there was a play where I tried to set the defender up like I was going to come for the ball and check away, and I felt a big cramp in my hamstring.
“I know what that feeling feels like. I was smart. I came out. I didn’t try to force it, but there’s definitely something there. If I had played, I’d have been restricted. The smart thing was for me to do what’s best for the team and come out. We’ll get an MRI on Monday and see what’s going on.”
While the seriousness of Johnson’s injury is not yet known, his status for the first leg of Seattle’s Western Conference semifinals series against Real Salt Lake appears to be in doubt, as the Sounders host RSL on Friday.
If Seattle’s leading goal-scorer is out for any significant amount of time beyond that, the Sounders would be a dealt a serious blow in their quest for their first MLS Cup.
Sammy Ochoa, who replaced Johnson in the loss to the Galaxy, is likely to be the U.S. Men’s National Team forward’s replacement should he not be able to suit up against Real Salt Lake.
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What do you make of Johnson’s injury? Expecting him to be out for Friday’s game? How will Seattle cope without him if he is sidelined an extended period of time?
Share your thoughts below.