Already without several members of their attack due to injuries, CF Montreal looks to overcome two more hits to their offense when it hosts Orlando City on Saturday.
Forwards Matias Coccaro and Josef Martinez are the latest to be bitten by the injury bug. Coccaro was injured in the 26th minute of a 2-1 win by Montreal (3-3-1, 10 points) against FC Cincinnati last week and will be out eight to 10 weeks.
Martinez was injured in training Tuesday but is not expected to be out long-term and is reportedly already feeling better.
There could be good news on the injury front in the coming days with Kwadwo Opoku and Jules-Anthony Vilsaint each getting closer to returning, though neither will be available against Orlando.
The four absences open the door for Sunusi Ibrahim and Mason Toye to help pick up the slack.
“I’m lucky to have a squad with a lot of (depth),” coach Laurent Courtois said. “Guys who have shown a lot and others who can show more. It’s up to me to help them so that we’re speaking the same language and maintain the same performance.”
Montreal has 10 goals in seven matches and has conceded 14.
Orlando (2-3-2, 8 points) heads north looking for its second road win of the season after securing three points in a 3-2 triumph against D.C. United last week. The club trailed by a goal twice in the match before breaking the tie in second-half stoppage time.
“I feel like we needed that to show a little bit of character,” midfielder Dagur Dan Thorhallsson said. “I felt like when we concede a goal we’ve been a little bit down, we can’t get out of it.
“But this shows that no matter the circumstances, when we concede a goal, we still bounce back, and we did that really well.”
Forward Duncan McGuire tallied against D.C., bringing his team-leading total to three goals. No one else has more than one.
Designated Players Facundo Torres, Luis Muriel and Martin Ojeda are each looking for their first goal of the season. Torres led the Lions last season with 14 goals.
–Field Level Media
