TORONTO – If losing the 401 Derby on Saturday were not humbling enough, Toronto FC were dealt a further blow on Monday when it was announced that star forward Sebastian Giovinco would be sidelined for four weeks.
Giovinco left the loss to Montreal in the 67th minute and was diagnosed with quadriceps and adductor strains that will see him out of the TFC lineup for the foreseeable future, just as the playoff race was heating up.
The striker had been in scintillating form, involved in 14 of the club's last 18 goals – scoring eight and assisting six – encompassing the seven-match unbeaten run that came to an end against Montreal.
“He's the reigning MLS MVP and probably the front-runner for it this season... he's somebody you don't replace,” said TFC defender Drew Moor from training on Tuesday. “It's certainly a loss, big shoes to fill, [but] I don't think it's going to change the way we play or our mindset going into games at all.”
Toronto have overcome injuries before. Michael Bradley, Jozy Altidore, Will Johnson, and Clint Irwin, to name but a few, have all missed significant portions of the season. And Greg Vanney sees them approaching the absence of Giovinco the same way.
“We do what we've done: guys step up,” said Vanney. “We need to perform as a group. We can still win games, I have no doubt about that.”
Johnson, himself still reintegrating following a broken leg, concurred, while admitting, “It's frustrating, we haven't really had first eleven together for a lot of games this year. Young guys have stepped up, we've managed to get results. That's what we're going to have to do.”
“Everybody still believes we can be a winning club while Sebastian heals,” continued Johnson. “Hopefully he is ready to go for some more important games [come] September, October, November, and maybe even December.”
Asked if Giovinco's absence would prompt a formation change, Vanney said: “Not necessarily, we have the option.”
“Sebastian can turn nothing into something very quickly, without him... our attack probably looks different, but we can still be dangerous,” continued Vanney. “We still have a target striker in Jozy; mobile players who are capable with the ball; guys who can play on the wings. Bring Jordan [Hamilton] and Tosaint [Ricketts] in, two guys who can stretch out a defense, have pace, can get behind. We also are bigger, if we get wide and get crosses in the box, we have more size.
“Nobody can pull off a play like Seba; nobody can change a game in this league like Seba. That's a real factor,” admitted Vanney. “We're going to have to create more opportunities off collective play.”
As to how firm that four-week timeline was, Vanney offered, “It's hard to say. We're optimistic that he's a fit individual who takes care of himself. We hope it can be shorter than that, but we're not going to rush. We have big picture things in front of us.”
