ORLANDO, Fla.-- With his Orlando City SC team already struggling to gain any kind of end-of-season traction, head coach Adrian Heath fears he may be about to lose yet another vital component with Darwin Ceren suffering a mystery knee injury.
The El Salvador midfielder and national team captain had to be carried off in the first half of last Friday’s World Cup qualifier at Curacao, and the Lions have heard nothing back from repeated queries about the severity of the injury.
Heath confirmed after training on Tuesday that Orlando are none the wiser about Ceren’s situation, and anxiously await his eventual return following the home leg of El Salvador's qualifying matchup on Tuesday night.
“We are still uncertain as to Darwin’s status,” Heath said. “We have called several times but have not been able to get any clear information as yet. At this stage he wants to remain with his [international] teammates for their second game, so we probably won’t find out the full ramifications of his injury until we get him back and our doctors can look at him.”
It is a worry the team could do without as they try to gear up for Sunday’s big showdown with Sporting Kansas City, possibly their last chance to keep any playoff hopes alive.
Ceren has been one of the real discoveries of the season, getting the chance to make the step up from Orlando’s USL days and starting in all 21 of the games in which he has been available following the season opener against New York City.
His partnership with Colombian Cristian Higuita has frequently been the team’s glue in the defensive midfield. In fact, of the team’s seven league wins, only two came without both players starting.
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Ceren has missed five games to international call-ups and another to suspension, while Higuita has missed six to injury and another to a one-game ban, meaning the duo have played only 15 times together. But in those 15, the team has gone 5-5-5. With only one of them in the lineup, the record is a less-than-respectable 2-8-3.
“Yes, they have been an important partnership for us,” added Heath. “They definitely dovetail together well and give us a solid presence in midfield. I would certainly expect to pick both of them if fit.”
“If fit” is now the key for the Lions. Recent acquisition Servando Carrasco has filled in for either Higuita or Ceren three times but without finding the same on-field chemistry or success, while Lewis Neal and the now-departed Amobi Okugo have also been slotted into that midfield role without making it their own.
Carrasco would likely be called on again if Ceren’s injury is as serious as suspected. But Heath could also turn to Neal, Eric Avila or even untried Portuguese starlet Estrela in a bid to cover the position. Either way, there will be some serious anxiety in Orlando’s ranks once again until Ceren returns on Thursday.
