Toronto FC Nervously Await Update on Sebastian Giovinco Injury
By Paul Taylor
With Sebastian Giovinco suffering an injury against Montreal at the weekend, are we about to find out how dependent Toronto FC are on the 2015 MLS MVP?
This season has already been a success for Toronto FC in a lot of ways. One of the most significant examples of this, has been their ability to overcome a long list of injuries, and still maintain their challenge for the playoffs.
In fact, when you consider the likes of Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore and Will Johnson have missed playing time, this makes TFC’s rise to the summit in the Eastern Conference even more impressive. However, throughout it all, it was argued the one player the Reds wouldn’t be able to replace, was Sebastian Giovinco.
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If the 2015 MLS MVP were to miss any time with injury, people wondered how this would affect the team’s current success. Unfortunately for Toronto FC, we may be about to find out.
Losing the 401 Derby to the Montreal Impact on Saturday was bad enough. However, even this pales in comparison to the sight of Gionvinco hobbling off the field during the second half of the 1-0 defeat.
The 29-year old initially hurt himself in the 64th minute, after a clash with Laurent CIman. He carried on for another three minutes, before being replaced by Tsubasa Endoh.
No doubt Toronto FC fans feared the worst, as Gionvinco came off the field appearing to favor his groin or quad muscle. Coach Greg Vanney spoke to goal.com’s Ben Valentine and the rest of the media about the injury after the game.
Vanney said: “He’s sore so we’ll get a scan…and see what we’ve got going on. I can’t speculate on it, but it’s the quad region soreness and he felt it enough to feel like it didn’t make sense to keep pushing.”
The scan took place on Sunday, so the results should be known within a few days. Assuming it’s nothing too serious, Toronto FC have the benefit of a week off from action, given their superstar more time to recover.
However, if Giovinco has to miss any playing time, it will be interesting to see how this impacts the Reds’ morale and performances. Certainly, there is no denying his importance to the team, as evidenced by an MLS-leading 29 combined goals and assists.
If nothing else though, this would be a chance for the rest of the players to prove their worth. Critics have recently suggested TFC are a one-man team and too dependent on the Italian. something which the likes of Altidore and Bradley would love to prove wrong.
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Assuming Giovinco does miss some playing time through injury, what are you expecting from TFC? Do they have the strength in depth to continue their recent run of good form, or will they struggle without their Italian superstar? Let us know in the comments section below.