TORONTO—Jermain Defoe is perturbed.
On Thursday, the Toronto FC striker spoke out against his growing number of critics who have questioned the legitimacy of an abdominal injury that has sidelined him for a significant portion of the 2014 Major League Soccer season.
Defoe spent most of August in his native England seeking treatment on the injury. While he was there, English Premier League club Queens Park Rangers tabled an $11 million transfer bid for his services. Toronto turned down the offer, but it led to doubts among fans and members of the media as to whether he was really hurt, or if he went back home simply to try to engineer a transfer move.
“It was frustrating when I was home seeing certain things—people questioning if [I was] really injured. I remember [someone] wrote an article saying I’m at home nursing a minor injury. … It’s frustrating when people doubt you, when you’re dealing with a real injury and especially for someone like me who loves playing football,” Defoe told reporters after TFC’s practice on Thursday.
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Defoe, 32, leads Toronto in scoring this year with 11 goals in 19 MLS appearances, although he has missed 14 games through injury and suspension.
The former Tottenham star sat out six matches in a two-month period with the same abdominal issue before returning to action for Toronto as a second-half substitute against the LA Galaxy on Oct. 4. He aggravated the injury after playing two more games and he missed last weekend’s 1-1 draw with the Montreal Impact, a result that officially eliminated TFC from playoff contention. Defoe won’t play in Saturday’s season finale on the road against the New England Revolution.
“I was struggling through games where I was basically playing through pain. … I went home and it settled down but I wasn’t right enough to [play],” Defoe affirmed.
The Englishman defended his decision to return to England for treatment instead of remaining in Toronto, saying it’s normal for athletes to deal with doctors and medical professionals they’ve seen before and are already comfortable with when it comes to injury problems.
Defoe decided against having an operation to the correct the problem as it would have sidelined him for much longer. He said when he returned to Toronto in September he again tried to play through the pain. That was a mistake, Defoe conceded, and now he expects to have the surgery this off-season.
“It’s a problem I need to get fixed. The [TFC team] doctor has made contact with a specialist in Germany who deals with these types of injuries. …. The main thing for me is shooting. At the moment, I’m shooting with pain,” he explained.
Defoe also feels he’s been unfairly characterized by reporters and fans who don’t believe he’s not fully committed to Toronto FC.
“Throughout my career I’ve never really been criticized about my commitment because I love football. … You read things [in the media] and social media is a powerful thing, and I try not to read it, but I’m only human. I want fans to like me and to realize that [I’m] committed to the club,” Defoe stated.
“Sometimes I read things and I think, ‘are they talking about me?’ They must be getting the wrong impression of me. I know in my heart I’m committed.”
He later added: “I never once came out publically and said I want to leave this club.”
But Defoe failed to give a definitive answer when asked directly about whether he expects to be back in Toronto next season.
“At the end of the day, I don’t know what the future holds. But what I would say was that I was desperate to get into the playoffs, and it’s something I would love to experience, to be here and get this team into the playoffs,” Defoe answered.
Coach Greg Vanney also feels Defoe has been unfairly painted as a player who doesn’t want to be in Toronto.
“The timing of it created speculation, between the injury and the closing of the transfer window. It’s a perfect storm of events that [makes] it easy for people to draw conclusion that he is not engaged and doesn’t want to be here,” Vanney offered.
“I can say that I’ve never heard him say that he doesn’t want to be here. … I’ve never heard that from him.”
Vanney did, however, admit that Defoe could have handled the situation much better by getting out in front of it before the media and fan furor grew as the weeks passed by.
“He could’ve helped himself if he would have jumped out publically immediately and said hang on, I want to be here,” Vanney stated.
In a moment of great candour, Vanney couldn’t provide a yes or no answer when asked if he thinks Defoe will back with Toronto next season.
“I’m not really sure what to expect. … I don’t know [what he thinks] now that he’s spent a year in the league; what are his true feelings about this league and the decision that’s he made, and does he want to see things out, and is there really where he wants to push his career,” Vanney said.
“These are conversations that we’re going to have once the season closes. … We would like to have him back if he’s ready to play and is healthy, and his mind is in the right place, and he believes in the project which is for us to be successful.”
Season finale in New England
TFC closes out the season on the road Saturday against the New England Revolution in a game that has no meaning for the Reds after they were eliminated from playoff contention last weekend in the home draw versus Montreal.
Toronto has already set club records for wins (11) and points (41) this season. A victory on Saturday would improve those numbers, but it won’t erase the disappointment over a disappointing campaign that ended with the club failing to reach the one goal that mattered: qualifying for the playoffs.
It’s amazing to think that TFC could finish as low as eighth place in the Eastern Conference standings—the Houston Dynamo trails Toronto by two points, and can potentially surpass the Reds with a road win against the Chicago Fire on Friday.
Injuries and suspensions will leave Toronto somewhat short-handed in New England. Jonathan Osorio is suspended after being red carded in last weekend’s match against the Impact.
Fellow midfielder Dwayne De Rosario will also miss the New England game—the Canadian international was handed a one-game suspension by MLS on Friday for “endangering the safety” of Hassoun Camara when he kicked out at the Montreal defender in the dying minutes of the match.
Rookie defender Nick Hagglund is questionable with a hamstring injury.
Star midfielder Michael Bradley (foot problem) didn’t train with the team on Thursday, but will be available to play against New England.
