Orlando City will have to make do without another of its top strikers for the next few weeks.
Alexandre Pato underwent successful surgery on his right knee on Tuesday, Orlando City has announced. Pato had an arthroscopic procedure, and is expected to be sidelined 3-6 weeks.
The Brazilian forward who signed with the Lions this past offseason suffered the injury in the team’s home opener vs. Atlanta United on April 17. His absence combined with that of Daryl Dike, whose loan at Barnsley was recently extended through the end of May, means Orlando City head coach Oscar Pareja will have to tap into his depth options up top.
Tesho Akindele, who started and scored over the weekend in a win over FC Cincinnati, seems the front-runner to get the nod at striker in the short term. Another option is homegrown player Benji Michel.
Toronto fc reportedly LAND LAWRENCE
It looks like Chris Armas will reunite with one of his former New York Red Bulls players at Toronto FC, as the Athletic reported on Monday that Kemar Lawrence is set to sign with the Canadian side.
The 28-year-old Lawrence is currently on the books of Belgian side Anderlecht, which he joined in 2020 after five seasons with the Red Bulls.
atlanta United’s barco, damm out of CCL DECIDER
Atlanta United’s uphill battle in the Concacaf Champions League just got steeper because both Ezequiel Barco and Jurgen Damm are out for Tuesday night’s decisive leg vs. the Philadelphia Union.
Barco and Damm suffered “muscle injuries” in this past weekend’s loss to the New England Revolution, and will not be available as Atlanta United tries to overturn a 3-0 deficit against the Union.
PORTER FINED for cRITICIZING ccl officiating
Caleb Porter has been punished for his post-game tirade last week criticizing Concacaf Champions League officiating.
Concacaf handed him an undisclosed fine for his sharp comments about the officiating in the first leg of his Columbus Crew’s series vs. Monterrey in the Champions League.
Porter stated that he thought the refereeing was “a joke” and also said “shame on Concacaf” for allowing it to happen.