Toronto FC is holding its breathe after forward Jozy Altidore was injured in Saturday’s 1-1 road draw with the New England Revolution.
TFC’s top scorer this season with five goals in eight MLS matches, Altidore had to come out in the 21st minute of Saturday’s game with a hamstring injury.
Altidore, 25, raced in vain to reach a pass played into New England’s penalty area by a teammate. After the ball went over the goal-line, the American forward immediately signalled to the bench that he had to be subbed out. He was replaced by Englishman Luke Moore.
Coach Greg Vanney said the team won’t know the severity of the injury and how much time, if any, Altidore will miss until the next day or two. Altidore is expected to undergo a scan when the team returns to Toronto on Sunday.
TFC’s next MLS game is on May 23 when it hosts the Portland Timbers.
“He felt a little something in the hamstring area. Just from speaking with him, he doesn’t feel like it’s serious at all,” Vanney told reporters on a conference call after the match.
“But he felt enough to think that he couldn’t go and that it wasn’t worth making it worse. We’ll get the assessment, but all indications from Jozy, who has had the injury before, is that it’s on the very minor side.”
Altidore suffered a hamstring injury both at the 2011 CONCACAF Gold Cup and the 2014 FIFA World Cup while playing for the United States national team.
Saturday’s game was tied 0-0 when Altidore was forced to leave. Up until that point, Vanney thought TFC was the better side.
“When Jozy was out there, they were having a very hard time figuring out how to defend us. We were getting to very god spots. In the end, I won’t be greedy—I’ll take the point, especially given the fatigue that we had in for the final 15-20 minutes,” Vanney said
Saturday marked TFC’s third match in eight days.
New England took the lead through Juan Agudelo’s header in the 32nd minute. TFC captain Michael Bradley equalized early in the second half with his first goal of the campaign on a brilliant individual effort. Goalkeeper Chris Konopka made a number of big saves in the second half to allow the Reds to leave Boston with a point.
Vanney believed TFC could have taken all three points had Altidore not come out so early.
“He’s been spectacular in the last couple of matches. The partnership between he and (Sebastian Giovinco), and with (Bradley) playing a little higher up the field, it’s getting better every match. I think he was getting himself in some very good positions and making some very good runs,” Vanney offered.
“Anytime you lose Jozy, with the form he’s in and the motivation he has right now, you’re going to feel that a little bit.”
With a 3-5-1 record, TFC now sits in fifth place in the Eastern Conference, and is unbeaten in its last three road games in MLS (two wins and a draw).
