LAFC had a roller coaster of a Thursday and they didn’t even take the field.
First, news broke that starting midfielder Mark-Anthony Kaye would need ankle surgery, leaving him out for 4-6 months. The 23-year-old left the LA derby against the Galaxy in the 20th minute, with tears in his eyes after being fouled just outside the penalty area.
Kaye is a huge loss for LAFC, proving vital to the club in his first Major League Soccer season after coming over from USL club Louisville City. “He [Kaye] brings a little bit more range, a little bit more ability to get around the ball, a little bit of an ability to close down, win some balls in air, get into the box in both sides,” said manager Bob Bradley at training after news of the injury was announced. “All those things make him a little bit different.”
Bradley said he learned the extent of the injury at halftime of the eventual 2-2 draw with the Galaxy. Kaye had started all but one of LAFC’s 21 MLS matches this season, helping the side to a second-place spot in the Western Conference standings.
However, the club then signed Brazilian defender Danilo Silva, formerly of Brazilian club Internacional and Ukranian giants Dynamo Kiev. According to reports on social media, Silva has signed a one-year loan deal with LAFC from Internacional, with no loan fee and an option to buy. The 31-year-old was surplus to requirements at the Brazilian side, playing just two of their first 16 matches of the season. He has a bit of MLS experience, playing for the MetroStars way back in 2005.