Atlanta United's Miguel Almiron is week-to-week after suffering a left hamstring injury in last week's 2-1 win against New England at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
Atlanta United released the diagnoses and better-than-expected prognosis of Almiron’s injury on Tuesday. He will stay in Atlanta and not travel to Paraguay to join its national team, which called him up two weeks ago.
Almiron limped off the field in the 30th minute of Saturday’s game with his team leading the Revs 1-0.
Almiron, 24, is one of the best players in MLS with 21 goals and 28 assists since the start of the 2017 season. He has been speculatively pursued by clubs in Europe.
Even though the Five Stripes are just one point ahead of the New York Red Bulls in the race for this year’s Supporters’ Shield, the team may not feel the need to rush Almiron back because its remaining two games are against teams that are already eliminated from the playoffs. Atlanta United will host Chicago on Oct. 21 and wrap up the regular season at Toronto on Oct. 28. Its first playoff game will be Nov. 4 against a to-be-determined opponent. Its first home playoff game will be Nov. 11. The MLS Cup is Dec. 8.
Should he not be needed to for the Chicago game, manager Gerardo Martino has options to replace Almiron, though none are a like-for-like replacement because of his unique blend of speed, passing ability, shooting skill and endurance.
Martino could turn to Ezequiel Barco, who came in for Almiron after his injury. Barco, the most expensive transfer in MLS history with a reported price tag of $15 million, is an excellent passer.
Martino could also push Darlington Nagbe higher up the field. In a 3-5-2, Nagbe typically plays a midfielder that bridges the defense to offense. If he were tabbed to replace Almiron, he would move higher up the field and to the left. Nagbe is also an excellent passer and better than Barco defensively.
Martino could also use either veteran Kevin Kratz or Andrew Carleton, who has been playing well as a No. 10 for Atlanta United 2.
It is the second injury Almiron has suffered while playing for Atlanta United. The first came in September last year and forced him to miss four games during which his team went 1-1-2.
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