Atlanta United striker Josef Martinez won’t play in Saturday’s home game against Orlando City, manager Gerardo Martino said on Thursday.
Martinez has scored nine goals in nine games for the Five Stripes (10-7-3). He has missed 11 games this season because of injuries.
He missed 10 consecutive games after suffering a thigh injury while playing with the Venezuelan national team.
He suffered a foot contusion upon his return in an U.S. Open Cup game against Charleston. He played through the injury until it flared up before last week’s 1-0 win at Orlando City. He didn’t make the 18 for that game. Martinez hasn’t participated in this week’s training sessions.
Martino said it’s possible that Martinez could return for next week’s game at Sporting KC, but it’s more likely that he won’t return until after the two-week break in August when the team plays at D.C. United on Aug. 23.
Martino also said that fullback Mark Bloom and forward Kenwyne Jones aren’t likely to return until after the break. Bloom has a back injury; Jones has right knee inflammation that happened while on national team duty with Trinidad and Tobago.
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