VANCOUVER, B.C. -- Vancouver Whitecaps fans were probably expecting, but equally dreading, the news, confirmed by the club on Friday. Influential winger Kekuta Manneh underwent surgery that morning to repair a broken fifth metatarsal bone in his right foot.
Manneh had worked hard to get back to full fitness after suffering an ankle injury in last year's playoff loss to Portland. He was also just starting to show some form, before limping out just before halftime during last Saturday's 2-2 draw with the Colorado Rapids. Visibly distressed, he left the venue in a walking boot and on crutches.
“Disappointing for him,” Whitecaps coach Carl Robinson said, describing the injury to media at training on Friday. “He’s a great kid. He picked up an injury, an innocuous injury really. He’ll be missing for eight to ten weeks now. Disappointing. I spoke with him and the operation went well, so that’s good and he’s on the road to recovery already, but things happen in football sometimes.”
Prior to the Colorado game, Manneh had picked up four goals and one assist in his five starts. Though there were still questions around his consistency, his absence for the next couple of months will definitely hit the Whitecaps attack hard in their push for the playoffs.
It's not enough to make Robinson rethink his plans in this summer transfer window, however, he indicated. So far, the Whitecaps' roster moves have been focused on the other end of the pitch, with the addition of Canadian defenders David Edgar and Marcel de Jong this week.
“We're not bad [at] scoring,” Robinson said. “It's trying to keep clean sheets and keep the back door shut. We did a good job on Wednesday night and we've got to do it again on Saturday [against Orlando]."
But just as Manneh's absence was starting to sink in, the Whitecaps announced some better news, with the signing of their latest Homegrown Player, 15-year-old Alphonso Davies.
Davies excelled in Vancouver's Canadian Championship games and in USL action this season, and now has his chance to impress with the MLS team. Although he plays on the left wing like Manneh, there should be no expectation that he can immediately step in and fill the void, with Robinson cautioning that Davies has "still got a lot of work ahead of him."
There was, however, a new face at Vancouver's training in the striking department -- Mexican Enrique Esqueda. The 28-year-old had previously made it known on Twitter that we was interested in a move to Vancouver, and with the recent departure of Octavio Rivero, Robinson has brought him in to see what he could offer his squad.
”He training with us,“ Robinson confirmed. ”He’ll be here this week and next week. There was a connection. He’s got family here in Vancouver, which helps, so we said we’d take a look at him. Nice to have him on board. He’s a good guy. I sat down and spoke with him, so we look forward to seeing what we he can bring.“
