Toronto FC players are still feeling a bit battered and bruised (literally!) from their 2-0 home loss to New York City FC on the weekend.
Here are some news and notes from TFC’s training session on Tuesday….
No discipline for Jacobson
It’s a quick turnaround for Toronto following the loss to NYCFC—the Reds welcome the Montreal Impact to BMO Field on Wednesday night and then host D.C. United three days later.
Coach Greg Vanney said some of his players are still feeling the effects of Saturday’s loss which saw New York play a very physical style of game. Sebastian Giovinco was the recipient of a lot of attention—he was routinely fouled off the ball, and at one point ws shoved down to the ground by a New York player.
The most contentious incident, though, came late in the game when New York midfielder Andrew Jacobson elbowed TFC defender Damien Perquis to the back of his head from behind inside the penalty box. The Frenchman, who appeared to hit Jacobson in the groin moments earlier, dropped to the ground but no foul was called. The two players had to be separated by teammates and coaches after the game.
TFC contacted Major League Soccer about the incident. But Vanney said he isn’t expecting the league to take any disciplinary action against Jacobson.
“They reviewed it. My understanding is that there isn’t anything that’s going to be done about it. It’s beyond baffling to me. It’s as vicious as an attack on a player who is defenceless and facing the other direction as anything I’ve seen the in the league in a couple of years,” Vanney told reporters.
“In this day and age, with concussions that we tend to be very concerned about, how that can be acceptable? Now every other play that looks like that in the box should be acceptable. That’s setting a standard that I think this league does not want to get into, but clearly the disciplinary committee found it okay and I find that disgusting.”
Vanney said he wasn’t offered an explanation by the league for its ruling.
Injury update
Vanney chatted one-on-one with Sportsnet and confirmed that veteran defender Steven Caldwell, who has been out with a quad injury since the second game of the season, has been integrated back into training on a part-time basis—Caldwell worked out on his own on Tuesday, and also with the rest of the squad.
Vanney said he is hopeful that Caldwell and midfielder Daniel Lovitz (who has missed the last few matches with a knee problem) will soon return to full training. Like Caldwell, Lovitz spent the majority of Tuesday training on his own.
Right fullback Mark Bloom, who has dealt with a series of nagging injuries this season, did not train with the team on Tuesday.
“We’re trying to really get him over and beyond. He’s tried to make a couple different comebacks with the quad strain. He’s close (to returning) and we just want to give him a little extra time this time before we bring him back,” Vanney told Sportsnet.
International call-ups
Vanney confirmed to Sportsnet that TFC will lose four players to Gold Cup duty following this weekend’s home match vs. D.C. United. Forward Jozy Altidore and midfielder Michael Bradley will head off to the U.S. camp, while defender Ashtone Morgan, midfielder Jonathan Osorio and third-string goalkeeper Quillan Roberts will join the Canadian national team.
The CONCACAF Gold Cup runs from July 7-26, which means TFC will be without four key starters during a crucial part of the MLS schedule—assuming the U.S. goes all the way to the final, Bradley and Altidore would miss four league matches.
Vanney believes the Reds have the depth to get through this difficult stretch.
“We’ve lost Jozy and Michael to the national team before and we’ve had players out of the lineup for a number of reasons. We’ve had to do that dance before, so I’m confident that our guys are capable of handling this,” Vanney told Sportsnet.
Galloppa going home
Free agent Daniele Galloppa, formerly of Serie A club Parma, has been on trial the past few weeks. Vanney confirmed Galloppa trained with the team for the final time on Tuesday and now he is headed back home to Italy.
Vanney told Sportsnet that while the club is interesting in the Italian midfielder, no deal is imminent.
“You know how this league works—there’s lots of variables in play with the salary cap, and international roster spots. Nothing is for certain. He’s an interesting player and clearly he’s a very good player with a lot of experience. But lots of things have to come into place before we could sing him,” Vanney told Sportsnet.