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It’s always painful to lose a player to injury (and you’ll have to pardon the pun on that one) but it’s a feeling Toronto FC fans are more than used to suffering from. A lack of consistency has plagued Toronto FC’s seven seasons in Major League Soccer, and yet, Toronto has been consistent in one category throughout the club’s existence – star players get injured…a lot.
Call it a case of age, effort, fatigue, field turf or just bad luck, whatever the excuse may be, Toronto FC’s best players consistently find themselves on the injury sheet, missing weeks on end as they recover. Let’s take a look back at some of Toronto FC’s most critical injuries, leaving star players sidelined without much hope.
When you think of injuries and Toronto FC, one of the very first memories that comes to mind is the bandaged arm of Jim Brennan, which ended up being almost symbolic for the club’s first captain. Though Brennan’s arm injury didn’t see him miss playing time, he always looked like a battered man, adding to his image as a hardworking Canuck – the ladies loved it, or so I’ve heard.
One of the longest serving players in the club’s short history to go down with injury was Adrian Cann, who missed plenty of playing time and was ultimately cut because of it. Danny Dichio also suffered with a string of injuries that ended up with talks of him being unable to fly on an airplane! His retirement soon after spelled the end of his career, which was defined by a goal scored in the 24th minute.
Carl Robinson also picked up an extended side line spell in 2009, right as Toronto FC headed into a playoff push…really, the only playoff push in club history. Robinson, an integral part of Toronto’s midfield, had his face smashed up by a random trialist from the Ivory Coast. He never really earned his spot in the starting line again.
Poor Stefan Frei also lost his spot in the starting line up, a fate he did not deserve. He came to Toronto drafted 13th overall in 2009 and immediately replaced Greg Sutton for a starting role. Frei’s performances made him a fan favourite and while his numbers weren’t very strong, he was still regarded as a competent and high quality goalkeeper in Major League Soccer. Yet, Frei also picked up a lengthy injury, and was replaced at first by Milos Kocic, and then, by Joe Bendik, both of whom came to Toronto FC as backups but made their cases loud and clear. Frei, ever the consummate professional, isn’t saying what must surely be on his mind, but a slump on the bench was probably not where he saw himself after an impressive debut with the club.
Then you have the case of Danny Koevermans, the goalscoring superhero from Holland who signed a Designated Player contract alongside the infinitely more recognizable Torsten Frings. While the media spotlight was on the German midfielder, Koevermans quietly went about his business scoring plenty of goals under Aron Winter, giving the team – and its fans – their first taste at a world class forward. Call Danny Dichio what you want but his talent in front of goal pales in comparison to Koevermans’, who has an eye for the back of the net that has not been matched in TFC history thus far.
Yet Koevermans also picked up an unfortunate injury, tearing his ACL, which ruled him out for a year of play. He returned to action once more in July, only to pick up another injury, which ruled him out even longer. Now, it’s not clear if Koevermans is still hurt or if he’s simply not being used, which may have prompted the message he gave to a Dutch media outlet, stating that he would return to the Netherlands at the end of his contract and play in the Eredivisie once more. This is a complete 180 from the message he delivered to Toronto FC fans at the beginning of the year during the All for One documentary, where Koevermans said his goal was to leave the club with his name on the wall of honour. That doesn’t look like it’s going to happen.
Speaking of Frings, the aging midfielder suffered from a string of back injuries that eventually saw him retire at 36. “Oh well,” was the sentiment of the Toronto FC faithful: he was old, he was slow, and while he had tremendous skill and talent, he wasn’t a long term fit – another star player succumbs to injury.
This season, Koevermans’ injury was the biggest talking point on this subject, but it hasn’t been the only one; Richard Eckersley, one of the most influential players in the backline, also succumbed to an injury which saw him miss out a large chunk of the first half of the season. His replacement, Ryan Richter, fared well at right fullback but Eckersley’s return – and performance thereafter – showed just how much Toronto FC missed him in defence. He wasn’t the only injured player in the backline, though – Danny Califf also came to Toronto FC under the guise of being a leader and a consistent contributor, aggravated an old injury and retired, too.
Let’s not forget Terry Dunfield. Good ol’ Terry picked up a knock and spent weeks on the recovery table, only to come back to a sombre smile and an inevitable cut from Ryan Nelsen and company. He’s now training with the Whitecaps, who publically went ahead and said they don’t want him, bruising his ego to match the one he picked up on his knee weeks before.
Phew! That’s an awful lot of players, and yet, we’re not even close to being finished. Remember Robert Earnshaw? The Welshman came to Toronto FC and caught fire immediately, scoring five goals back-to-back and bringing hope once more to Toronto’s forward line.
He then picked up a knock that ruled him out for a few weeks, too, opening the door for Jeremy Brockie to take over. He returned to the starting line up after recovering, sure, but that fire has long gone out and Earnshaw will need to light it up once more.
Is that everyone?
Not a chance.
There was Eric Hassli’s back, Alecko Eskandarian’s concussion, Nicolas Lindsay’s snowmobiling accident (remember him?), and Dicoy Williams’ knee. Meanwhile, players who left Toronto FC weren’t much luckier, with O’Brian White suffering from recurring blood clots in his left leg while Dwayne De Rosario went through an on-and-off string of injuries at D.C. United.
Nick Garcia was also punched in the face and was taken off – not a long term injury, but talk about bad luck.
This trend just won’t stop, by the way:
On Tuesday, Toronto FC revealed the unfortunate news that Matias Laba, the young Designated Player from Argentina who had earned so much praise in his first 15 games for the club, had broken his big toe. Jeremy Hall will need to step up once more and take over in midfield, and he’ll be just fine there, too. What should result in outrage, in bitter disappointment and agony, is just another day in Toronto FC land. For this, the club can’t be blamed – injuries happen in sports.
They just happen a lot with Toronto FC’s top players. If that’s not bad luck, I don’t know what is.
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