With its playoff hopes dangling by the thinnest of threads, the New England Revolution suffered a terrible setback Saturday when forward Saer Sene suffered a broken ankle against Montreal.
Sene was stretchered off midway through the first half at Stade Saputo. The Revs forward fell awkwardly on a challenge near goal; Montreal midfielder Davy Arnaud immediately waved toward the Revolution bench, imploring medical staff on the field.
Juan Agudelo’s recent return from injury helps soften the blow here, but it does rob the Revs of their top attacking combination. Sene has five goals and five assists this year, playing most often lately on the right in the team’s 4-1-4-1 arrangement. He has played in 23 off the club’s 32 matches this year, starting 13.
The injury became worse still when Dimitry Imbongo left the game in the 62nd minute with what appeared to be a hamstring injury. Imbongo had come on for the injured Sene.
Adding to the mounting attrition at the worst possible time, the club’s most creative attacker, Lee Nguyen, collected a yellow card and will sit out the Revs next contest.
What a time this would be for former U.S. international Charlie Davies, signed inexpensively on a bit of a flyer, to step in with a meaningful contribution. He was on the bench Saturday but has yet to offer any indication that he can be any king of a significant influence in MLS.
(More on the match itself later at ProSoccerTalk.)
Here is the best look at the Sene injury, although it’s not the best replay:
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