FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – There are quite a few questions surrounding the New England Revolution with injuries already taking their toll just one game into the 2015 season.
What will happen without Jermaine Jones and Lee Nguyen? How does the loss of Teal Bunbury affect the midfield lineup? Can the club win without any of these players?
Head coach Jay Heaps put things in plain and simple terms following his team’s 3-0 loss in their season opener Sunday against the Seattle Sounders: There are “no excuses” and he fully expects those that are filling in to seize their chance for quality playing time and help lift the team in the process.
“It’s not just the system, it’s a team,” Heaps told MLSsoccer.com. “We’re going to play a little differently with different personnel.”
The cause for concern isn’t drastic at this point with the season just a week old and the Revs traveling to face New York City FC on Sunday at Yankee Stadium (5 pm ET; ESPN2). Plus, New England’s two most important players are nearing their return.
Jones, who is recovering from sports hernia surgery, is still on a timetable to return sometime in April, while Nguyen, who traveled with the team but did not dress on Sunday, should debut in the next week or two as he cautiously heals a right groin injury.
Bunbury, who injured his right shoulder while bracing himself as he hit the turf after getting tangled with Lamar Neagle, is the more current concern.
The Revolution entered the season with midfield depth, which will be tested in these early weeks and provide a chance for many players to show and prove their worth.
“It’s a great opportunity,” said Heaps. “Some guys aren’t going to be able to go and the guys that are have to be ready to carry a different load.”
Any panic is also held at bay by the track record of the Revs’ medical and training staff, who last season kept the club’s health in relative check through a deep postseason run.
“It’s a great team,” Heaps said of his staff. “It’s a part of keeping players on the field as best they can. There are some injuries that you feel like you can control and there are other injuries that you can’t. If we can limit the injuries that we can control and the ones that can’t are going to happen. I feel that we do a great job and I credit our medical and training staff.”
