Toronto FC’s respectable start to the MLS season is in danger of going off the rails due to an ongoing injury crisis.
No fewer than seven players were unavailable through injury for last weekend’s 2-1 home loss to Atlanta United, a result that snapped TFC’s seven-match unbeaten streak. Most of the players on that injury list are dealing with long-term issues and aren’t expected to return anytime soon. Compounding matters was that the Reds lost two more starters – centre back Benjamin Kuscevic and midfielder José Cifuentes – to injury in the first half vs. Atlanta.
Toronto (3-3-4) will be short-handed once again when it hosts the first-place San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday (1 p.m. ET) at BMO Field – from the list of nine injured players who missed all or part of last week’s game, only forward Deandre Kerr will be back for the Reds this weekend.
With so many important players missing – including DP midfielder Djordje Mihailovic and Canadian international Richie Laryea – TFC desperately needs its depth players to step up and fill the void. In particular, the team’s youngsters could play a big role in helping Toronto navigate its way through this injury crisis.
Emilio Aristizábal, 20, scored for the first time for the Reds in last week’s loss. Aristizábal previously showed brief flashes of what he could provide TFC since joining the club on loan from Colombia’s Atlético Nacional prior to the start of the MLS season, but failed to record a single goal contribution in his eight previous appearances. The Atlanta match marked only his third start and his first in over five weeks. Now more than ever, Toronto needs the Colombian forward to produce.
“As a striker, I’m always going to do my best to provide everything to the club and anything that the team needs for me. I’m happy to provide a goal today and contribute with something and I hope that there’s more goals coming down the line,” Aristizábal said through a translator.
Toronto also could use some goals from the returning Kerr. The young forward, who has also been deployed as a winger at times this season, has been bothered by nagging injuries since the beginning of the campaign. Kerr, 23, has failed to record a single goal contribution in five league games (three starts) totalling 243 minutes this season.
Two youngsters who have been pulling their weight this year are fullback Kobe Franklin and winger Malik Henry.
Franklin, 22, started the first two matches of the season before earning just two eight-minute cameos off the bench over the course of the club’s next five games. But Franklin made the most of the opportunity when he made his third start versus Austin FC on April 18 – he scored from close range in the 88th minute to complete a comeback for TFC in a 3-3 draw.
It was his first career goal in 69 MLS appearances (39 starts). Franklin scored again in Toronto’s next game, a 3-3 draw vs. the Philadelphia Union, and he recorded his first assist of the season last week vs. Atlanta United. Now he’s looking to extend his streak of goal contributions to four consecutive games.
“If he plays, if he doesn’t play, if he’s starting, plays all the minutes, if he comes off the bench – he is the same character,” coach Robin Fraser said. “He works hard every day. He takes everything seriously and he literally gives everything he has, whether it’s training or games. And Kobe is somebody who is obviously very early in his career as a young professional, he will have a long career because of the fact that that’s his mentality. Whatever’s in front of him, he just works.”
Henry, 23, doesn’t have an assist or goal in seven appearances (six as a substitute) this season. But he’s looked very lively during the few opportunities he’s been given, impressing with his pace, fearlessness in getting forward and the touch of dynamism he’s added to the team’s attack.
“Whether I play five minutes or 90, I’m just going to try and give it my best by being energetic, and try and bring the team a little spark, because I think that’s what the coaches want me to do,” Henry said.
Henry’s contributions this season haven’t gone unnoticed by Fraser, who calls the youngster an “explosive” player who is “a really good crosser,” and not just some speed merchant who can bomb up and down the flanks.
“His energy and his quickness, his ability to serve the ball, those are all the things that led us to sign him [last year]. And then it’s really gratifying to see him start to really round out his game and do different things and be effective in different ways as well. … I’m very excited for Malik’s future,” Fraser said.
Elsewhere in MLS this weekend…
• CF Montreal will try to make it three wins in a row when it visits Atlanta United on Saturday night. Montreal (3-6-0) has just a single win through its opening seven games of the campaign, which led to the firing of Italian manager Marco Donadel. But the club is unbeaten since interim coach Philippe Eullaffroy took over and is showing genuine signs of consistency and continuity for the first time this season. German striker Prince Owusu has been a key figure with six goals and three assists in nine games.
• The Vancouver Whitecaps begin a lengthy road swing on Saturday when they visit LA Galaxy. It’s the first of nine consecutive away matches for the Whitecaps (8-1-0), who sit second in the overall league table and have won four in a row. Vancouver’s next home game isn’t until Aug. 1, so it’ll be interesting to see if Jesper Sørensen’s side can keep its early-season momentum going during this lengthy road trip which comes at a time when the Whitecaps’ long-term future in Vancouver is being questioned.
• Inter Miami hosts Orlando City on Saturday night in the first Florida Derby match to be played at Nu Stadium. Miami has yet to win at its venue that opened last month but it comes into this game on the strength of an 11-match unbeaten streak across all competitions. Lionel Messi tends to garner the majority of the headlines for Miami, but fellow DPs Germán Berterame (three goals in his last four games) and Rodrigo De Paul (one goal, three assists) have also been in fine form.
Editor’s note
John Molinaro is one of the leading soccer journalists in Canada, having covered the game for over 27 years for several media outlets, including Sportsnet, CBC Sports and Sun Media. He is currently the editor-in-chief of TFC Republic, a website dedicated to in-depth coverage of Toronto FC and Canadian soccer.