ATLANTA ( Associated Press) – Atlanta defender Miles Robinson was carried off the field on a stretcher After falling from artificial turf with a non-contact injury to his left leg on Saturday in United’s 4-1 win over the Chicago Fire.
Atlanta coach Gonzalo Pineda said Robinson would have an MRI on his Achilles tendon.
Pineda was not optimistic.
“Miles Robinson isn’t feeling well, but again, we’ll have to wait for tests and MRIs to see if we can confirm something on that end,” Koch said.
A serious injury to the 25-year-old central defender could see him on the roster for the World Cup, where the US will play against Ukraine, Scotland or Wales on November 21. Robinson started 11 of the Americans’ 14 World Cup qualifiers.
Robinson took a step back near the midfield stripe and headed a ball, which was led by Chinonso Ofor in the 14th minute. With Stanislav Ivanov close but not making contact, Robinson slammed the ball down and kicked it forward with his right foot as he landed awkwardly and fell.
Robinson pointed to his left foot with both hands, pounded the artificial turf at Mercedes-Benz Stadium and pointed to his foot again as athletic trainers came out to watch him.
He was put on a stretcher in the 16th minute.
Robinson has scored three goals in 21 international matches. They registered a 1-0 win over Mexico in the CONCACAF Gold Cup final last August.
During qualifying, Walker Zimmerman made nine starts in the central defense, Chris Richards four, John Brooks and Mark McKenzie two each, and Tim Ream one. Aaron Long, Eric Palmer-Brown and Cameron Carter-Vickers are also prospects for American coach Greg Berhalter.
Atlanta has already lost goalkeeper Brad Guzan (right Achilles), midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (right ACL) and third-string keeper Dylan Castanhera (left Achilles) to season-ending injuries.
Star forward Joseph Martinez underwent arthroscopic surgery on his right knee, which the team said will sideline him for six to eight weeks on April 8.
“It’s been a few years – whether I was a player or a coach in Seattle – where we also had some lengthy injuries, but nothing like that, especially not in the first 10 games of the season.” Pineda said. “We have a very, very good sports science department. We measure everything. We reflect on everything we do. I think they do a very, very good job – their standard is very high and obviously Well, we’ll check again, but I don’t think there’s anything particularly different from what we’ve been doing last year or even years ago.
Atlanta defender Brooks Lennon said it took some time for the team to recover from the shock of Robinson being dropped.
Lennon, United’s final goal scorer, said: “Just heartbreaking.” “I think we were all shocked. We are praying for him. We wish him a speedy recovery. Just one more blow to the team, which doesn’t bode well for us.”
