The groin strain suffered in Sunday's preseason match against Stabaek has put Chicago Fire Designated Player David Accam's status in doubt for the 2015 MLS season opener against the LA Galaxy on March 6.
The Ghanaian sat out Wednesday’s 1-1 tie with the Portland Timbers at Providence Park, and Fire head coach Frank Yallop admits “there’s no chance” he will risk Accam's fitness in their final match of the Simple Invitational, a meeting with the Vancouver Whitecaps on Saturday (5:30 pm ET, live stream at Chicago-Fire.com).
“He’s got a slight strain, and the first five days determine how bad it is,” Yallop told reporters on a conference call Wednesday night. “We’re on day two or three of it right now, so we’ll know more in a couple of days to see what the extent of it is. He’s had an MRI, there’s a slight something there, and if he’s a quick healer, which hopefully he is, he could be available for the [season opener]. But there’s no chance we’re going to risk him just for one match.”
A much-changed Fire lineup was held to their third draw in four preseason games by Caleb Porter’s men on Wednesday. The visitors overcame the early setback of a deflected goal to equalize with an own goal, and they were only denied victory by some poor finishing as they pressed forward in the closing stages.
However, much of the pre- and post-match discussion revolved around the injury to Accam, who completed 62 minutes against Stabaek on Sunday before limping off.
“We want to make sure he’s ready to go and firing on all cylinders when he does get back,” said Yallop. “He’s back in Chicago right now, getting treatment three times a day, and we’re just trying to get him ready as quick as we can.”
Continuing a trend evident thus far this preseason, the Fire looked relatively tight at the back, where Eric Gehrig impressed, while lacking the killer final ball in the attacking third. However, Yallop was satisfied with his team’s performance against the hosts following what he described as a “flat” display in the 0-0 tie with Bob Bradley’s Norwegian side in the tournament opener.
“I thought our performance was very good in a lot of departments,” said Yallop. “We created some good chances, we moved the ball well, used a number of different players in different spots, and this sets us up nicely for the next game.”
After playing the Whitecaps, who were 3-2 victors over Stabaek on Wednesday night, the Fire will return to Chicago briefly before flying back to the West Coast for next Friday's season opener against the defending MLS Cup champions (10 pm ET, UniMas).
In Wednesday's disjointed but entertaining game, the Timbers went in front in the 22nd minute when Michael Nanchoff’s free kick from outside the box clipped the shoulder of Alex before angling its way past goalkeeper Sean Johnson, who returned after sitting out Sunday's contest. It was the first goal Chicago have conceded in 292 minutes of preseason action.
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However, Yallop’s men forced a leveler just before the break when the impressive Michael Stephens sent a dangerous left-sided corner kick into the box, which the unfortunate Norberto Paparatto could only head past his own goalkeeper.
A raft of substitutions came midway through the second period, and with Shaun Maloney and Harry Shipp, in particular, linking up well, the Fire went close to snatching a winner in the latter stages. Joevin Jones was another who caught the eye, as he has done in each of his outings for the club this preseason.
With just eight days until they begin their 2015 campaign at StubHub Center, Yallop feels he is close to knowing his starting lineup in LA.
“I think today was a good indicator of our fitness; I think it was good, and we had our sharpness back,” he said. “We’ve had a few days of practice, I got out of it what I wanted to accomplish, and we’ve got the desire and fight that I always want out of my teams. We also had some quality, and that was good. Obviously everyone wants to play, there were some good performances tonight, but I’m pretty close. I’ve got a good idea of what I’m going to do.”
