The worst seemed possible when Colorado captain Drew Moor left Sunday’s game with an apparent knee injury. Today, those suspicious were confirmed. According to the club, the 30-year-old central defender will miss the rest of the season, a torn anterior cruciate ligament and lateral meniscus in Moor’s knee costing the Rapids their best defender.
The injury occurred 12 minutes into Sunday’s game at RFK Stadium in Washington, D.C., leaving Moor unable to exit the field under his own power.
“It’s hard to remember exactly what happened,” Moor said, according to the Rapids’ website. “I just remember running full speed one way, and cutting really hard when [Luis] Silva cut in. My right leg was planted pretty hard and when I opened up to reach back for the ball, my right leg didn’t move and all the weight just went into my knee. It was almost as if, for a split second, I could feel my knee turn into jelly.”
The injury leaves Pablo Mastroeni in search of solutions in central defense, where Moor joined the sidelined Shane O’Neill. Although O’Neill’s injury is less severe than his partner’s, there’s still no timetable on his return, with the 20-year-old still experiencing discomfort in his knee.
From ColoradoRapids.com:
That leaves Mastroeni with Marvell Wynne and rookie Jared Watts in the middle, a duo that was at the heart of a defense that conceded three times in Sunday’s final 24 minutes.
For a team that’s lost four in a row (as well as its standing amongst the West’s top five), the injury couldn’t have come at a worse time. Had this happened earlier in the season, Mastroeni would have had time to adjust. And if the Rapids weren’t in the middle of a slump, having all its players healthy, ready to provide solutions, would be less of an imperative.
Instead, Colorado is without one of its building blocks. With 10 games left in the season, Mastroeni needs to reestablish a foundation before he can launch a playoff run.