Andy Polo ruled out for the rest of the season
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Matthew Emmons-USA TODAY Sports
What we all feared after last Saturday’s horror challenge has come to pass: Andy Polo has been ruled out for the season. The Portland Timbers announced today that Polo will undergo surgery for a ruptured left quadriceps and a torn meniscus, and his subsequent recovery timeline will sideline him for the rest of the 2021 MLS regular season at the very least.
Polo suffered the injuries as a result of a red-card tackle from LA Galaxy defender Derrick Williams. In real time, the challenge looked bad, and on replay it looked even worse. The end result was just as everyone feared a season-ending injury.
Match Thread: Portland Timbers vs. San Jose Earthquakes (7:00 p.m. PST)
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Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
The Portland Timbers will play their fifth MLS match of the season today against the San Jose Earthquakes, and I’m very interested to see how this turns out. I’m interested because this team is nowhere near full strength. Portland had to sign a goalkeeper midweek since the top three options are all out, the most recent injury being a season-ending one for Jeff Attinella.
On top of that, the Timbers will be without Diego Chara and Larry Mabiala and are still without key players such as Sebastian Blanco, Jaroslaw Niezgoda, and Cristhian Paredes. The Timbers have become the living embodiment of the Black Knight of “Monty Python’s The Holy Grail,” just shouting “ ‘Tis but a scratch” while continuing to play matches.
Portland Timbers beat San Jose Earthquakes as emergency GK Logan Ketterer saves PK, Eryk Williamson notches 2 assists
Updated 12:33 AM;
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There were plenty of reasons to think the Portland Timbers were destined for a difficult Saturday night in San Jose. Road trips are notoriously tough in MLS, nine Timbers players were out with injuries and the team’s form lately has been poor.
But the Timbers defied the odds and snapped a three-game losing streak by beating the Earthquakes 2-0 at Avaya Stadium on the back of two assists from Eryk Williamson.
The surprise hero of the match, however, was someone who wasn’t even on the Timbers roster a few days ago: Logan Ketterer, the emergency on-loan goalkeeper who saved a penalty kick, denying San Jose’s Chris Wondolowski an equalizer.
Injuries piling up for Portland Timbers, with goalkeeper Jeff Attinella out for season and midfielder Diego Chara sidelined by hamstring strain
Updated May 13, 2021;
Posted May 13, 2021
Timbers midfielder Diego Chara (rear) fights for possession with Sounders defender Nouhou (5) as the Portland Timbers face the Seattle Sounders in an MLS match at Providence Park on Sunday, May 9, 2021. Chara suffered a hamstring strain against the Sounders that will sideline him for at least this week.Sean Meagher/The Oregonian
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Injuries are a part of sports and every team must manage setbacks. But for the Portland Timbers, who had to invoke the “extreme hardship” roster rule Thursday, it’s hard to imagine the injury situation getting much worse.
Six Degrees: A Terrible, Horrible, No Good, Very Bad Week
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Photo by Abbie Parr/Getty Images
1) Our terrible, horrible, no good, very bad week started last Wednesday, when we travelled to Mexico City full of hope, only to be rather forcibly bounced from the CONCACAF Champions League in a 3-1 loss to Club America.
Going into the first leg a couple weeks ago, I thought the Timbers had a chance to make some noise and win a game at home. The 1-1 draw was a little disappointing, but at least I could take some solace in the fact that we kept it close. As I said in last week’s column, we proved we could hang with the big boys.