FOXBOROUGH, Mass. -- The New England Revolution have already endured two stints this season without their Designated Player Jermaine Jones, but this time, it's a little tougher to take for Revs head coach Jay Heaps.
After working his way back from a second sports hernia injury and surgery, Jones will again not play with the Revs as they take on Orlando City SC (7:30 pm ET; MLS LIVE). Instead, he's been called up again for US national team duty.
“Losing him now, when we just started to get him back in was tough. But at the same time I think it’s a good thing for him going forward to get back into the mix and help the national team from a mentality standpoint,” said Heaps. “I think Jermaine is best when he playing for club and country.”
It was Jones’ second sports hernia surgery that kept him out of contention for a slot on Jurgen Klinsmann’s Gold Cup squad. But he worked his way back into New England’s lineup at the beginning of August with the goal of getting back with the US for these specific matches, which should include some time in front of his home fans in the friendly vs. Brazil on Sept. 8 in Foxborough.
His workload has increased in each of the three matches since his return, and he looked close to complete form in the 62 minutes he played in the Revs' 1-0 win over Philadelphia last weekend.
“First and foremost, I thought Jermaine was really good [on Saturday],” said Heaps. “Having watched the film again, I thought his overall presence in the first half, and through the first 15 minutes of the second half, were spot on. He was excellent.”
The club has gone 3-0-0 since his most recent return, and 6-1-5 with him in the lineup overall this year. So losing him during the most crucial point of the season, as New England looks to nail down a playoff spot down the stretch, is tough timing to say the least.
But the club is prepared for his absence, having already had to play 13 games without the 33-year-old, and having veterans and a gameplan to back up the defensive midfield slot.
“We won’t have that grit like with Jermaine in there,” said Lee Nguyen. “But, Daigo [Kobayashi is] a veteran, he’s very technical and hopefully we’ll try to keep more possession with him in there.”
And though this absence comes at an inopportune time, at least the Revolution can take solace in knowing that this time, unlike the two injuries, he will only be missing for one match.
