A joyous night for Atlanta United ended with an air of worry as captain Michael Parkhurst limped off the field in stoppage time.
The stalwart center back for Tata Martino's team was knocked down by his own teammate, Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, after the Argentine was run into by Red Bulls striker Bradley Wright-Phillips and fell to the ground. Miles Robinson came on to replace him as Atlanta finished off their Eastern Conference Championship win. But The Atlanta Journal-Constitution's Doug Roberson was able to get the scoop in the postgame locker room and the captain said he will be fine for MLS Cup on Dec. 8 against the Portland Timbers (8 pm ET | FOX, UniMás, TSN, TVAS).
The 34-year-old is set to appear in his fifth MLS Cup final in just nine seasons, with three coming with the New England Revolution (all losses) before he left to pursue a career in Europe. He returned to captain Columbus Crew SC in the 2015 MLS Cup final, which ended with another loss. He will look to break that trend when the Five Stripes host MLS Cup next week.
