Atlanta United's Hector Villalba is day to day after sustaining a hyperextended knee in training this week.
Villalba, 23, didn’t make the 18 players for Wednesday’s 1-1 draw at New England. It was the first of a stretch of five games in less than three weeks. The team will host Philadelphia on Saturday at Mercedes-Benz Stadium.
After scoring 13 goals with 11 assists last season, Villalba’s sophomore season has been riddled with injuries and inconsistent play that may be a reflection of his reduced minutes.
He suffered an abductor injury during preseason that limited his training time. He started the first five games this season but had just one goal and two assists, all in the same game, before a hamstring strain suffered against LAFC sidelined him from the next two games.
Ezequiel Barco moved into the starting lineup. Villalba has started just one of the past five games, not playing more than 45 minutes in any of them.
Villalba’s injury is yet another for a team that have been unlucky this season. Barco suffered a quad strain the first week of practice that forced him to miss the first five games. Franco Escobar has missed seven games because of two injuries. He also missed some of the preseason because of a separate injury. Chris McCann has missed several games. The team announced on Friday that Greg Garza will miss 4-6 months after undergoing shoulder surgery.
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