Injury concerns plagued NYCFC after 1-1 draw against Vancouver

New York City FC is heading into a much-needed international break after a 1-1 draw against Vancouver Whitecaps FC. The match was controversial after a soft penalty call and the no-foul decision right before. The Pigeons continue to have lousy luck aid in draws and losses. Of course, part of the issue was the lack of goals as well.

However, there were more dire concerns during the match and after. NYCFC had injury concerns with Mounsef Bakrar, Birk RIsa, Thiago Martins, and Maxi Moralez. Bakrar and Risa were taken off in the game, Martins stayed on, and Moralez exited during stoppage time.

There were injury concerns after the NYCFC game

For Bakrar, it was not clear he was having an issue, but in an injury update during the postgame press conference, Nick Cushing confirmed the striker had a hamstring injury. It was confusing as to why he came off, and the choice to bring on Richard Ledezma in his place was criticized.

Then, Risa had been hit on the ankle. As a precautionary measure, the center-back was taken out of the game. Notably, it was not because of the controversial no-call foul where he briefly hurt his back. With Martins, he had some knee pain at the end. The Brazilian should be okay after recovery.

Sadly, it was Moralez who looked to have been hurt the most. Everyone at Yankee Stadium held their breaths as Moralez went down and struggled to get up after a clash. The NYCFC legend had to be assisted off the pitch. He could not put any weight on his right leg.

He was also carted away and ended up getting scans at the stadium. Cushing told reporters that he does not think it is super serious, but the inability to put any weight on the leg is concerning.

Hopefully, all four players will be available for the Hudson River Derby in about two weeks. The international break could not come at a better time. At this rate, New York City FC cannot afford to lose any of their players.