New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps is winding down his rookie MLS season by taking heavy caution with his star players. The organization has recently announced starting midfielder Lee Nguyen will undergo season ending shoulder surgery. Lee is predicted to return in approximately four months time. The news comes nearly a month after leading-scorer Saer Sene tore his left ACL in a home match against Chivas USA.
Lee Nguyen vs. Sporting KC
Photo by David Silverman
According to Heaps, Nguyen has been playing a great deal of the season banged up. He has a history with his right shoulder injury, causing it to come out of it’s socket when getting fouled and bothering him game after game. Yet it you were to watch any of Nguyen’s appearances this season, he always looked healthy and energetic. Lee has been a spark for the New England offense this year, scoring 5 goals on 60 shots and rightfully earning the Revolution ‘Man-of-the-Match’ award numerous times.
In addition to Nguyen and Sene, Flo Lechner and Ryan Guy will also miss the next match due to injury and prior soccer commitments. Now that Coach Heaps has made the wise decision to ensure his stars are healthy for next season, fans will continue to see more of the younger and less-experienced players these last four matches. Expect to see Cardenas, Toja, Fagundez, and Barnes again, but more importantly get a look at Blair Gavin, Sainey Nyassi, or even Alec Purdie. There is nothing left to lose as the Revs playoff chances have diminished. It is time for Jay to play the unusual faces and give the bench a shot to prove their soccer versatility.
Hopefully the Revolution will find the missing piece to their puzzle in October. It has felt as if the highly skilled players in Jerry Bengtson and Benny Feilhaber have not lived up to the hype this year, and the consistency in the team’s offensive and defense has been poor. Whether injuries or other matters are effecting the team’s performance is unclear, but if there is one thing needing perfecting for next season, it is closing out games to win.
Catch New England’s next match this Saturday when they visit the Houston Dynamo at 8:30pm ET.
-Matt Bloom
The Foxboro Fort | Revolution Soccer Blog 