FRISCO, Texas – The hits just keep on coming for FC Dallas. Their latest challenge: having to rebound from their Sunday loss to the New York Red Bulls with almost no time to rest, flying to Seattle after a regeneration session on Monday afternoon.
In addition to Je-Vaughn Watson having to serve a suspension for the red card he received on Sunday, Dallas will be without Andrés Escobar, Kellyn Acosta and All-Star George John for Wednesday's match against the Seattle Sounders (10 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
The biggest question, though, is the injury to playmaker Mauro Díaz. Technically, Díaz is listed as day to day and FCD have dismissed reports that he's been ruled out for the season, but the club expected detailed information on its key midfielder on Monday.
“We have an appointment with a doctor this afternoon, we will come with a release afterwards,” head coach Oscar Pareja told reporters on Monday.
Pareja has shown throughout the first part of the season that he has options and has successfully filled gaps before, most recently with the insertion of 20-year-old Danny Garcia into the lineup against a veteran New York team.
“It was impressive to see from a kid who shows personality,” Pareja said. “He carried the team in many aspects and periods of the game. He knows there is a long way to go still, but we won a lot of stuff.”
Garcia took the best shots the Red Bulls could deliver, including two hard challenges by international veterans Tim Cahill and Thierry Henry, early in the game.
“He matched up with that very well, and in a couple plays where New York came in hard against him and he held it well, and which is even better, he came back and asked for the ball and he was playing more vertical than I had probably ever seen before, which is great news,” Pareja said.
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That is good news now for Dallas because on top of the continuing Díaz injury saga and the suspension of Watson, Stephen Keel missed the New York game with a foot injury and did not train on Monday.
One player that Pareja spoke about as an option for the upcoming games was first-round SuperDraft pick Tesho Akindele.
“Tesho is growing, accumulating hours of training and understanding what we want from him and the demands of the game and the league,” Pareja said.
