UPDATE (Nov. 2) – FC Dallas midfielder Alan Velasco is out long-term after suffering a torn left ACL, the club announced Thursday.
Velasco, FCD's club-record signing, suffered the season-ending knee injury in the club's 2-0 defeat at Seattle Sounders FC on Monday to begin their Round One series.
The 21-year-old Argentine youth international will soon undergo surgery. A recovery timeline will be provided afterward, though he's expected to miss a sizable portion of the 2024 MLS campaign.
In his two MLS seasons, Velasco has 10 goals and 11 assists in 54 games (50 starts). He placed No. 1 on this year's 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR list.
ORIGINAL (Oct. 30) – FC Dallas had an Audi 2023 MLS Cup Playoffs debut to forget Monday night, dropping their Round One Best-of-3 opener, 2-0, at Seattle Sounders FC and losing star attacker Alan Velasco to an apparent leg injury.
The 21-year-old required an 18th-minute injury substitution after picking up a knock minutes earlier from Sounders defender Alex Roldan, who fell into the Argentine midfielder after losing his feet in a duel with FCD winger Paul Arriola. Velasco received medical attention following the awkward collision and initially played on, but went down again of his own volition shortly after, signaling for a sub and grasping at his lower leg in apparent pain.
Dallas head coach Nico Estévez was none too pleased over the circumstances that forced him to replace this year's No. 1 player on MLS' 22 Under 22 presented by BODYARMOR list for Liam Fraser.
"Unluckily, Alan got injured from a tackle," Estévez said, comparing this incident with the injury suffered by New England Revolution captain Carles Gil in Saturday's 3-1 loss at the Philadelphia Union.
"Again, two players in two different games are having to come out of the field because of injuries and the referees are not showing yellow cards... they have to adjust these things and evaluate better what are risky plays and what are not risky plays."
An evaluation is also needed for Velasco, whose unexpected exit was just the beginning of FCD's misfortunes at Lumen Field, where the hosts won on goals from Albert Rusnák (PK, 43') and Jordan Morris (74').
"I think we'll have to do more testing, an MRI probably tomorrow or Wednesday," Estévez said. " ... We'll have to do more testing and see what's going on there."
What's certain for Dallas is they have the chance to change their fortunes when returning back home to Toyota Stadium for Game 2 on Saturday (9 pm ET | MLS Season Pass) – a must-win to keep their season alive.
"When we play on Saturday, the message is we want to come back to play here," Estévez said, alluding to a hypothetical Game 3 at Lumen Field on Nov. 10. "It's sure and clear: We want to come back to play here."
