Photo by Brad Mills/USA Today Sports
By FRANCO PANIZO
D.C. United began their preseason preparations on Friday, and they did so without forward Eddie Johnson.
Johnson has been excused from D.C. United’s first three weeks of preseason training due to medical reasons, the club announced on Friday. D.C. United did not specify what Johnson was dealing with, but said he would be undergoing medical examinations during the time that he’s away from the team.
Heading into his second season with D.C., Johnnson, 30, could begin training again in mid-to-late February but will still likely miss the first leg of the club’s CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinals series vs. Alajuelense on Feb. 26. D.C. United’s season opener is on March 7.
The veteran striker, who is on a Designated Player deal, is coming off a disappointing first year with D.C. United. He scored seven goals and had three assists in 26 regular-season appearances in 2014, but was in and out of the lineup over the course of the year and had multiple off-the-field issues.
What do you make of Johnson’s absence? How tough will it be for him to break into the lineup if he misses most of the prseason? Think he is in for a big bounce-back year all the same?
Share your thoughts below.
EJ still plays?
Get well Eddie. Get back soon if possible. Stay strong.
Hopefully it’s not serious and he comes back to bag 15 this season! Maybe that should be 11 in case he gets hot and called into the GC Team
Wow, the class on display in this comment stream is, well, really it isn’t.
EJ missed a playoff game last season with a serious health concern, some sort of heart condition (I think) that he’s had forever that flared up. Won’t be surprised to hear this is related to that.
How about some, um, actual reporting? You know, digging for some facts?
No one’s stopping you.
I’m not the journalist in this arrangement. I’m a reader. It’s not like I asked a random question about some extraneous topic. Isn’t it reasonable to ask the reporter – you know, the one with the sources – to go beyond the press release and fill in some gaps?
Prima Donna Syndrome
If it comes out that he has a serious medical condition like cancer or leukemia then ur gonna feel pretty stupid. No class….
“ur gonna feel pretty stupid.”
Your’e giving seaoctopus way too much credit
He has been reported to have an enlarged heart. I assume what happened here is that the team found something on his physical and they’re doing some stress testing.
Internet penis syndrome
The beginning of the end of his career started with his post-goal “show me the money” celebration in Seattle. This is just another big step toward the ultimate end of his career.
Really? And here I was thinking EJ was going to be playing another 30 years.
Are you sure EJ’s career is going to end? After all Freddy Adu has been around far longer than SBI. I’m sure 10 years from now they will still be calling for Adu to be capped..
Hmm…sounds fishy.
No, it doesn’t.
EJ has an enlarged heart — and suffered from dizziness and blood pressure issues during the playoffs. The team had physicals at the end of this week. Obviously, they’ve found something concerning and he’s going to have more extensive exams to see if he can be certified for full training.
Now that sounds fischy.