Danny Koevermans suffered an injury to his left anterior cruciate ligament (ACL) last Saturday and will now miss the remainder of the Major League Soccer (MLS) season. His club Toronto FC made the announcement on Monday.
Koevermans was Toronto FC’s leading scorer with nine goals. The Dutchman was brought in as a designated player last July by former coach Aron Winter.
The injury occurred late in the first half in TFC’s match at Gillette Stadium in Foxboro, Mass., against the New England Revolution. Koevermans ran onto a long ball into the New England 18-yard box, attempted to pivot, and was then clumsily tackled by Revolution defender A.J. Soares.
Koevermans immediately fell to the turf clutching his left knee. It was clear he had suffered serious knee ligament damage. He was carried off on a stretcher. Many observers blame the artificial turf at Gillette Stadium for Koevermans’s injury.
Before he left the game, he helped set up Luis Silva’s game-winning goal in the eighth minute with a clever little pass at the top of the 18-yard box.
Reaching His Peak
Koevermans had begun to once again garner recognition across MLS for his goal-scoring exploits. After a slow start to the season, Koevermans had rediscovered the form that made him one of MLS’s most feared strikers last season.
“I was always fit,” Koevermans said, speaking about his scoring streak, after Toronto FC’s draw against the visiting New York Red Bulls on June 30. “Only now, it looks like I’m fitter.”
The game against the Red Bulls was arguably one of Koevermans’s finest this season. Not only did he score the equalizing goal with a header off a corner kick, but he showed that he has tremendous speed for a 6-foot-3-inch 175-pound man.
Koevermans tracked down New York’s speedy winger Dane Richards after a roughly 40-yard sprint and made a great tackle.
“You always have to mark your man. I just ran and I could tackle him,” Koevermans said. Richards, incidentally, is regarded as one of the fastest players in MLS.
“Maybe I’m the fastest now,” Koevermans said smiling. “No, that’s a joke!”
Toronto FC may have beaten the Revs, but the loss of Koevermans is a serious blow to the team that had recently started to show signs of improvement under head coach Paul Mariner. MLS also loses one of its top-performing designated players.
Standout goalkeeper Milos Kocic told TorontoFC.ca, “We lost a big part of our team. Danny’s 30 percent of this team. We played this game for him.”
Follow Rahul on Twitter @RV_ETSports
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