With injuries starting to pile up for Jesse Marsch’s Canada squad, just how big a concern are they becoming?
With Week 21 of Race for the Roster, Kevin Kilbane once again steps in for Steven Caldwell and offers up his perspective on a talent pool that has thinned in recent weeks due to key injuries. After the broken tibia incurred by Moise Bombito earlier this month, two more Canada players were sidelined this past week in Celtic right-back Alistair Johnston and winger Liam Millar of Hull City. Both injuries are especially cruel ones.
A Vancouver native, Johnston returned to the Bhoys’ lineup during Europa League action against Sturm Graz following a hamstring injury that had kept him out since Aug. 20. In the 26th minute, Johnston chased down a long ball that was played forward by Sturm Graz to shepherd it back to his goalkeeper when he came up limp with a seeming aggravation of the previous hamstring ailment. He would limp off and be subbed out immediately.
As for Millar, who Caldwell currently has as a bubble player,the Liverpool youth product scored his first goal of the season for the Tigers midweek, but his substitute appearance against Charlton Athletic lasted only 10 minutes on Saturday when he came off with a hamstring injury. TSN’s Matt Scianitti would report later in the day that the ailment is considered serious enough for the Toronto native to be a doubt for Canada’s next international window next month when they take on Ecuador and Venezuela in friendlies. Millar had recently been out of action for 11 months with an ACL tear.
But it wasn’t all doom and gloom on the injury front. Scianitti reported on Sunday that Bombito is progressing well enough from his broken tibia that late February is now the Montreal native’s projected return to play timeline. The former CF Montreal centre-back had a rod inserted into his leg in the surgery needed to address the injury.
As for Johnston, Celtic manager Brendan Rodgers said after the team’s 3-1 loss to Scottish Premiership leaders Hearts that injuries to the right-back and Nigeria striker Kelechi Iheanacho were less significant than initially believed.
“Alistair and Kelechi are probably not as serious as we first thought, but I’m not sure they’ll make Wednesday [against Falkirk],” Rodgers said. “So they’ll definitely be a few weeks.”
For Kilbane, it’s the injury to Johnston that needs the most addressing and, if he had his druthers, it would be a player who Caldwell has starting elsewhere in his XI to spell him. The versatile Niko Sigur of Hajduk Split, who scored his first goal of the season on the weekend, is Kilbane’s pick to slot in at right-back. Kilbane suggests using the upcoming window to play the 22-year-old Burnaby, BC native at the position.
Canada’s team remains unchanged.
Race for the Roster: Week 21 (4-4-2)
Forwards
STARTERS: Jonathan David (Juventus) and Cyle Larin (Feyenoord, on loan from Mallorca)
BENCH: Promise David (Union SG), Daniel Jebbison (Preston North End, on loan from Bournemouth) and Tani Oluwaseyi (Villarreal)
Midfield and Defenders
STARTING MIDFIELDERS: Alphonso Davies (Bayern Munich) INJ, Niko Sigur (Hajduk Split), Stephen Eustaquio (Porto) and Tajon Buchanan (Villarreal)
BENCH: Jacob Shaffelburg (Nashville), Ismael Koné (Sassuolo, on loan from Marseille), David “Junior” Hoilett (Hibernian), Nathan Saliba (Anderlecht), Mathieu Choiniere (Los Angeles FC) and Ali Ahmed (Vancouver Whitecaps)
STARTING DEFENDERS: Richie Laryea (Toronto FC), Derek Cornelius (Rangers, on loan from Marseille), Moise Bombito (Nice) INJ and Alistair Johnston (Celtic) INJ
BENCH: Sam Adekugbe (Vancouver Whitecaps) INJ, Jamie Knight-Lebel (Swindon Town, on loan from Bristol City), Joel Waterman (Chicago Fire) and Luc de Fougerolles (Dender, on loan from Fulham)
Goalkeeper
STARTER: Dayne St. Clair (Minnesota United)
BENCH: Maxime Crepeau (Portland Timbers) and Tom McGill (Brighton)
IN THE HUNT: : James Pantemis (Portland Timbers) and Jonathan Sirois (CF Montreal)
