Columbus striker Kamara suffers injury in final MLS Cup training session
COLUMBUS, Ohio --
Columbus Crew SC forward Kei Kamara faces a fitness evaluation ahead of MLS Cup after sustaining a right leg injury in training on Saturday.
Kamara picked up the knock during Crew SC's final session ahead of the match against Portland on Sunday. The influential forward walked off the MAPFRE Stadium field under his own power and returned to the Crew SC locker room before the conclusion of the practice.
Crew SC head coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said he did not see how Kamara injured himself or know the extent of the injury. Berhalter said he planned to check on Kamara's status promptly and expressed hope that the 22-goal scorer would recover from the knock in time to assume his usual place in the starting XI.
"I haven't had a chance to assess it yet," Berhalter said after the training session concluded. "I'm going to go into the locker room and figure out what happened, what the treatment is and whether he'll be available. My guess is -- right now -- is that he'd be available."
Kamara -- in addition to his goalscoring prowess -- plays a key role in how Crew SC operates in possession and poses a threat to the opposition. His combination of traditional target work and keen awareness of when to ghost behind the line stretches opposing defenses.
There are no direct, like-for-like replacements for Kamara at Berhalter's disposal. Jack McInerney is the usual first-choice off the bench, but he is more of a poacher and less of a physical presence.
If Kamara is not available, then Crew SC would need to adjust accordingly to compensate for the absence of their top scorer, according to Berhalter.
"It would change: The top goalscorer in the league would not be playing in this game," Berhalter said. "It would affect us. We'd have to re-group, come up with another idea, another plan and try to execute it within a short period of time."
Several Crew SC players said they did not catch the incident or know the extent of Kamara's injury. Crew SC winger Justin Meram summed up their thoughts by noting Kamara's importance and underscoring desire to feature in the game.
"We know how important he is," Meram said. "We know he's a tough guy and that he'll be ready. But we also have other guys on the bench who can step up when their name gets called."
