Minnesota United star midfielder Emanuel Reynoso said he won’t play Saturday in the season opener at Austin FC because of a knee injury that has limited him throughout preseason play.
Injured Minnesota United star Emanuel Reynoso to miss Saturday’s season opener
The Loons will open their season at Austin without their best player after a knee injury kept him out of preseason friendlies.
The Minnesota Star Tribune
February 22, 2024 at 6:57PM
He called it a “small injury on my knee that won’t let me kick off the season,” but said he was happy to be with the team after reporting for preseason training a week after his teammates started in January.
The injury kept him from playing any preseason friendlies during training in Tucson, Ariz., and Indio, Calif.
Reynoso, 28, trained much of Monday and Tuesday, but came out of training late in Tuesday’s session after the injury bothered him again. He said he has been consulting with the team’s medical and coaching staff because he doesn’t want it to linger.
“It’s very frustrating,” he said in a Spanish interview translated to English by a team employee. “I was happy I made it for preseason and started working with the team, then I got injured, recovered and then got hurt again. I wasn’t able to get some game rhythm, but I’ll keep fighting to improve.”
Reynoso said he was on track to start Saturday’s game before his knee started bothering him during Tuesday’s training.
“I would rather not risk it since I’ve had issues with my in the past,” Reynoso said. “I want to be 100 percent ready to help my teammates and be ready when the coach calls my name.”
Veteran defensive midfielder Wil Trapp played Reynoso’s “No. 10″ position in the team’s new 4-3-3 formation run by interim coach Cameron Knowles during preseason. Hassani Dotson started on his left and Robin Lod on the right during a final scoreless draw with Charlotte on Saturday in the Coachella Valley Invitational near Palm Springs.
Reynoso said he asked permission from the club to miss preseason training’s first week so he could make medical arrangements and be with his pregnant girlfriend. He also said his parents have a Friday appointment to get a visa so they can visit him.
“So that’s great news,” Reynoso said.
Minnesota started only two strikers against Seattle, leaving Sang Bin Jeong and Joseph Rosales to provide the width behind Teemu Pukki and Kelvin Yeboah.
