Atlanta United are dealing with a player availability crisis. It's possible that the Eastern Conference club will be without nine players from their strongest XI when traveling to face Nashville SC on Thursday (8:30 pm ET | MLS LIVE on ESPN+).
Brad Guzan, Miles Robinson and George Bello have joined the US men's national team at the Concacaf Gold Cup, while Ezequiel Barco has linked up with Argentina for the Olympics. Emerson Hyndman suffered a season-ending ACL injury in June, and both Jurgen Damm and Franco Ibarra have been out for a few weeks with what the club has called lower-body injuries.
Star striker Josef Martinez hasn't appeared in an Atlanta United match since May 29 due to being with Venezuela at the Copa America, then didn't travel with the squad for last weekend's loss at Chicago Fire FC. Lastly, Santiago Sosa and Alan Franco also didn't travel to Chicago.
To boot, Atlanta are winless in their last six matches and have scored just 11 goals all season. Things aren't getting any easier, but they'll have to push through without a number of key players.
“Passion," head coach Gabriel Heinze told reporters through a translator when asked how they'll cope. "I’m confident in this group of players, they will give everything they have.”
Heinze didn't provide an update on either Damm or Ibarra, though he noted Sosa is doing "much better," Martinez is yet to return to full training and Franco is still recovering.
Without the trio against Chicago – as well as Hyndman, Damm and Ibarra – they lost 3-0. The Fire had only scored seven goals in their first 10 matches this season, losing all but three of those games prior to Atlanta's visit. Nashville, meanwhile, have risen to fourth in the Eastern Conference standings and have suffered just one loss this year.
"We feel the necessity to win, we’re putting in the max effort we can," midfielder Marcelino Moreno said. "Only way to get out of a situation like this is to all be together."
The positive spin? This run of games will give unheralded players who haven't gotten many minutes the chance to shine. Center-mid Mo Adams got his first start of the season last weekend after returning from injury, as did 18-year-old homegrown attacker Tyler Wolff. Veteran goalkeeper Alec Kann looks set to get his first start since 2018.
“Guys are hungry," Kann said. "A lot of guys who haven’t had opportunities in a while will have a chance to show what they can do. Whether it’s here or somewhere else, we can show we have the quality to play in this league.”
One good result can spark a run to reverse fortunes.
“We need to get our confidence back," Heinze said.
