UPDATE (June 27, 2 pm ET) – Atlanta United right back Brooks Lennon is out for approximately 6-8 weeks after suffering an MCL sprain in his left knee prior to the club’s 2-1 loss at Toronto FC on Saturday, the club announced Monday.
Lennon suffered the injury during pre-match warmups when he slipped on a hard rubber surface that surrounds both touchlines at BMO Field.
With the injury recovery timeline, Lennon could be out through late August – or when ATLUTD have about a half-dozen matches remaining in their 2022 season.
ORIGINAL (June 25, 8:30 pm ET) – The injury bug continues to bite Atlanta United.
Prior to Saturday’s Week 16 kickoff vs. Toronto FC at BMO Field, right back Brooks Lennon was carried off the pitch after sustaining a left knee injury in warmups.
He was then replaced by Aiden McFadden in manager Gonzalo Pineda’s starting XI. McFadden is with Atlanta as a U-20 Call-Up Replacement, a roster move sparked by Tyler Wolff being at the 2022 Concacaf U-20 Championship with the United States.
Any long-term absence for Lennon would be of the utmost concern to the Five Stripes. They already have left back Andrew Gutman (quad), center back Miles Robinson (Achilles), goalkeeper Brad Guzan (Achilles) and defensive midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (ACL) – most of their first-choice "back five" – all injured long-term. Versatile fullback Ronald Hernandez (MCL) is out as well.
It's a brutal run of injuries for Atlanta, and Lennon's yet another key piece for the 2018 MLS Cup champions. The 24-year-old defender has two goals and two assists in 14 games (13 starts) this season.
Lennon, a once-capped US international, has been in MLS since 2017. The former Liverpool academy standout spent 2017-19 with Real Salt Lake before getting traded to Atlanta, spending his early MLS years playing in midfield.
