Atlanta United will be without several key players for the second consecutive week when it plays at Colorado in Saturday’s MLS game.
Listed out for the Five Stripes are winger Luiz Araujo (hamstring), who is expected to miss at least four weeks, Machop Chol (leg) and midfielder Emerson Hyndman (ACL recovery).
Listed as questionable but who will be unavailable for the second consecutive week are midfielders Thiago Almada, Santiago Sosa and Franco Ibarra, according to manager Gonzalo Pineda. The three are in Argentina securing legal documents. Almada is waiting on his visa; Sosa and Ibarra on their green cards. Pineda said the team doesn’t yet know when the players will return. None of the players have trained with the club since Feb. 21. They are training in Argentina with someone from the club’s fitness staff.
Also out is winger Jake Mulraney, who has yet to train with the club this week and missed last week’s game.
Ozzie Alonso started in place of Sosa, Amar Sejdic in place of Ibarra and Tyler Wolff in place of Almada. Wolff was credited with an assist in the game.
Rejoining this week is centerback Alan Franco, who was ineligible to play in last week’s 3-1 win against Sporting KC because of a red-card suspension. George Campbell started in Franco’s place last week.
Pineda said he has decided who will play in place of Araujo but declined to say who will. Among the candidates are Dom Dwyer, Brooks Lennon, Marcelino Moreno and Wolff.
“My policy is always next man up, and I trust in everyone, and the next guy is going to do fantastic, and that’s my expectation,” Pineda said.
Pineda said that the club basically can plug-and-play is a credit to the front office for assembling a deep team and the players.
“Everybody’s important,” he said. “Everybody provides some uniqueness to the lineup. So, yes, we’re going to lose some of the exciting left-foot inverted winger that we have when we put Araujo on the right side and his skills, his passes in transition, his goals.
“We’re going to miss that, but we’re going to have other things with the next player that comes up, and he’s going to give us some other attributes that are going to help the team, and that’s how I look at these opportunities to see all the players and to make them feel valuable and they all contribute to what we are going to achieve at the end of the year.”
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Atlanta United’s 2022 MLS schedule
Feb. 27 Atlanta United 3, Sporting KC 1
March 5 at Colorado, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
March 13 vs. Charlotte, 4:30 p.m., FS1
March 19 vs. Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 2 at D.C. United, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 10 at Charlotte, 1:30 p.m., ABC, ESPN Deportes
April 16 vs. Cincinnati, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
April 24 at Miami, 1 p.m., ESPN
April 30 at Montreal, 4 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 7 vs. Chicago, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
May 15 vs. New England, 2 p.m., ESPN
May 21 at Nashville, 7:30 p.m. FOX
May 28 vs. Columbus Crew, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 19 vs. Miami, 4 p.m., ESPN2
June 25 at Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
June 30 at New York Red Bulls, 8 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 3 at NYCFC, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 9 vs. Austin, 7 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 13 vs. Real Salt Lake, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
July 17 vs. Orlando, 3 p.m., ABC
July 24 at L.A. Galaxy, 9:30 p.m., FS1
July 30 at Chicago, 5 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 6 vs. Seattle, 3 p.m., ABC
Aug. 13 at Cincinnati, 7:30 p.m. BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 17 vs. New York Red Bulls, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Aug. 21 at Columbus, 6 p.m., FS1
Aug. 28 vs. D.C. United, 4 p.m., UNIV
Aug. 31 at Philadelphia, 7:30 p.m.
Sept. 4 at Portland, 5:30 p.m., FOX
Sept. 10 vs. Toronto, 7:30 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 14 at Orlando, 6 p.m., BSSO/BSSE
Sept. 17 vs. Philadelphia, 3:30 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 1 at New England, 1 p.m., UniMas
Oct. 9 vs. NYCFC, TBD, BSSO/BSSE
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