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‘Chicharito’ to miss Gold Cup with broken collarbone (UPDATED)

Javier Hernandez 07012015 (USA TODAY Sports)

Photo by USA TODAY Sports

By IVES GALARCEP

Mexico’s hopes of challenging the U.S. Men’s National Team for the 2015 Gold Cup title took another major blow on Wednesday night.

Just two days after losing its top defender, Hector Moreno, to an injury that will cost him the Gold Cup, now Mexico is faced with the reality of having also of lost star striker Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez after he suffered a broken collarbone in a friendly against Honduras on Wednesday in Houston.

The Mexican Federation confirmed on Thursday that Hernandez was set for surgery in Houston to repair the injury.  Mexico’s team doctor Gerardo Aguilar told Univision Deportes that after surgery to repair Hernandez’s broken collar bone, it will take at least three to four weeks for Hernandez to recover, ruling him out of the competition.

Hernandez’s injury will even further test Mexico’s depth in a tournament where head coach Miguel Herrera is already handcuffed by the absence of several key options who participated in Mexico’s failed Copa America campaign. Chief among them, Atletico Madrid striker Raul Jimenez, who is now unavailable for the Gold Cup.

The injury also comes at a time when Hernandez had been the subject of swirling transfer rumors, with a reported MLS move among the possibilities for the 27-year-old striker.

Mexico’s attack was shaping up to be a real force in the Gold Cup, with long-absent forward Carlos Vela having finally put to rest his differences with the Mexican Football Federation, but if Hernandez is sidelined, the pressure will be heightened even further on Vela.

What do you think of this development? See Mexico winning the Gold Cup without Chicharito? Think the U.S. is the clear-cut favorite heading into the Gold Cup?

Share your thoughts below.

Comments

  1. If I could care less about the Mexican team I would. As far a Im concerned FUDGE THEM!!! That team cries about everything starting with the Umpa Lumpa coach they have.

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  2. I don’t want to sound evil but it was time he got injured or broken.
    he plays at 1000 miles an hour and cries at the ref like if he is cr7 or Messi.
    Hes a good player but needs to learn how use his speed and skills.
    hey maybe MLS is perfect for him, he has no team.

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    • He has no team? He belongs to Man U. Just because they don’t need him doesn’t mean they are just going to give him away.

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  3. Tough stuff for Chicharito, and I wish his recovery all the best. It sucks he’s got to miss out on the Gold Cup, wouldn’t wish that on anyone.

    That said, does anyone see this picture being the target of many Chicharito memes?

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  4. I think we are just witnessing the typical Mexican football chaos. Mexico does well at some event that makes them feel incredibly optimistic (good performance in WC for this cycle, wining the U-20 WC, winning the gold cup in 2011 ect), then they start to falter and get poor results because they are not as good as they think they are. drama and pressure builds until the coach is fired and they manage to barely salvage the situation from a true disaster and the cycle repeats. All the while the US marches steadily on as the best team in CONCACAF.

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  5. well, the old grab-the-ball-as-you’re-falling move seems to have backfired this time. don’t know why, but that annoys me to no end; i love when refs card players for doing that.

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    • yeah it depends on the type and severity. I broke mine in my late 20’s and had my arm immobilized for 3 months. At the time there was some controversy about the effectiveness and materials used in the surgery so I opted to heal nonsurgically. If a successful surgery is done to align and stabilize the bone fragments (usually with plates and screws), then the healing time is reduced drastically. Though 3-4 weeks still seems pretty optimistic.

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  6. Far as I’m concerned, this could be a blessing in disguise for Mexico. No doubting Chicharito’s talent, but there is also no denying that his effectiveness in the Mexico setup has been waning (and he still hasn’t scored against the USMNT… not that any Mexican player can make that claim in the last few years)

    Still, Mexico should not be written off at all in this tournament. For starters, they face an embarrassingly easy draw, which should see them avoid all of their “bogey teams” (USA, Costa Rica, Panama) until the final, assuming they win their relatively straightforward group (Cuba, T&T, Guatemala). If Vela can find a way to re-integrate himself into the team’s attack, then it might really be a different Mexico side that emerges in the knockout stages.

    In my view, it’s all good. This tournament is at its finest when Mexico has a strong team (the revenue folks at CONCACAF would certainly back me on this, though this obviously doesn’t concern me). I hope the USMNT plays both Costa Rica and Mexico in big-time showdowns. I hope it’s chippy. I want a *true* Gold Cup…. and I can scarcely wait.

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    • Costa Rica is Group B, Mexico Group C, I believe. The way the draw falls it looks like the two would see one another in the semi-final if they both win their groups and then win the quarterfinal match.

      So…obviously weirdness can happen, and one of the three (US, Mexico, Costa Rica) might not win their group, but unless that happens the USA will see just one of either Costa Rica or Mexico, and only then in the final.

      So strangely, the USA gets the #4 (Honduras) and #5 (Panama) teams in CONCACAF in our group, which is tougher than you’d like, but we strangely will not likely see anyone nearly that strong in either the quarters or semis. Which is kind of what the US women saw in the first two rounds of the knockouts up in Canada until they got to Germany.

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      • This is wrong.

        The Group A and Group B winners likely meet in the quarterfinal (likely USA vs. Costa Rica)

        Mexico would also likely avoid Panama as they should finish 2nd in group A.

        Mexico got a mind boggling easy draw with a horrible group and without having to face anyone decent until the final (though they likely have to face either Honduras or Panama)

        Still, they likely miss Costa Rica or the U.S. until the final

      • whoops, meant to say the USA vs. Costa Rica is a likely semi-final, not a likely quarter-final.

        my mistake.

      • Yeah you’re a little off on this one quozzel…. HTM above has it right above, to the best of my reading… Of course, things could change if the expected teams do no win their groups.

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