Philadelphia Union captain Alejandro Bedoya may be forced to watch MLS Cup from the sidelines.
Bedoya started against NYCFC in the Eastern Conference final, but he appeared to re-aggravate the hip flexor strain he’d been battling for more than a month and didn’t make it past halftime.
Speaking at a pre-match press conference on Friday, Union head coach Jim Curtin admitted that the 35-year-old, whom he described as the “heart and soul of our club,” faced an uphill battle to play against LAFC at Banc of California Stadium on Saturday.
“He’s doing everything obviously to be a part of the game,” Curtin said. “We talk about it all the time, you never know when you’ll get another opportunity like this.
“He’s not the youngest, but he’s gotten better and better with the years and he’s had an amazing season for us. So even if it’s for five minutes to close out the game, he wants to be a part of it and he’s going to do everything he possibly can to be prepared for it.”
Should Bedoya feature against the Supporters’ Shield winners, it will almost certainly be off the bench. Even if Bedoya doesn’t play, Curtin still said he’d have a role to play for the Union.
“I can say now it will be difficult [for Bedoya] to start the match,” Curtin said. “It’s literally going to go down to the last minute for him to be a part of the game.
“He’ll still do all the things in the locker room to help us out, to calm the guys down, to get them amped up when they need to get amped up. He’s the heart and soul of our club and if he’s not able to be part of it, I think the guys will have a little extra in there for Alejandro.”
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