The Sounders midfielder position is in flux once again. Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer announced Serbian midfielder Nikola Petkovic will miss the rest of the season due to a non-contact knee injury. According to Schmetzer, Petkovic was running shoulder to shoulder when his knee buckled during the team’s Saturday training session.
“It’s a serious blow to (him), obviously, and to us as a club,” Schmetzer said after Tuesday’s training session. “It sucked the life out of training that day.”
LOAN COMPLICATES MATTERS
Complicating the situation is the fact that the Sounders acquired Petkovic on a loan deal from Charlotte during the winter. The complication is whether Petkovic will undergo surgery and rehab with the Sounders or return to Charlotte. The loan for Petkovic was scheduled to expire at the end of the season. After a slow start to the season in which he was scratching for playing time Petkovic had started the last two MLS matches for the Sounders.
“He was finding minutes because of his play,” said Schmetzer “Was he outplaying a few guys to get minutes? You could make that argument. He was trending in that direction.”
Hassani Dotson, another offseason acquisition by the Sounders, was placed in concussion protocol, which opened the door for Petkovic to start alongside Cristian Roldan.
UPCOMING MATCH
The Sounders will return to MLS play when they travel to Houston a face the Houston Dynamo on Saturday. The club will stay in Texas after the match and train before traveling to Monterrey, Mexico, for the first leg of the Concacaf Champions Cup Quarterfinals on Wednesday.
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