Fans in Atlanta and all over MLS are holding their collective breath coming off Atlanta United's 2-1 Week 1 victory over Nashville SC at Nissan Stadium, awaiting updates on Atlanta forward Josef Martinez after the star forward exited the match with a leg injury.
Martinez went down in the 63rd minute after a collision with a Nashville defender and initially tried to stay in the game, but eventually went back down and was carried off the field on a stretcher. Here's the video of the incident:
After the match, Martinez was spotted leaving the stadium on crutches, with an air cast on the injured leg.
At his postgame press conference, Atlanta head coach Frank de Boer said that he didn't have any immediate information on the extent of the injury, but did indicate it was to Martinez's knee.
It goes without saying how important Martinez is to Atlanta, as he's been one of the most deadly and efficient goal scorers in league history since joining the Five Stripes in 2017, netting 77 goals in 84 games.
While the club is still awaiting exact word, De Boer said that if Martinez does need to miss extended time, he'll ask the club to sign a striker, with Adam Jahn the only other forward currently on the roster, per Doug Roberson of the Atlanta-Journal Constitution.
Martinez suffered a knee injury in September 2019 in a match against San Jose that had most fans fearing the worst. But it turned out that it was less serious than initially believed and he returned for the playoffs after missing several weeks.
In addition to their MLS regular season matches, Atlanta United have also advanced to the 2020 Concacaf Champions League quarterfinals where they will be facing Liga MX foes Club America on March 11 and March 18.
