The Houston Dynamo got some bad news late last week, as MRI results indicated that goalkeeper Pat Onstad has torn abdominal muscles and will likely be out for an extended period of time.
The MRI, which Onstad got last Thursday, showed several torn muscles and left the Dynamo man with two options: shut it down and rehab the muscles after they felt better or undergo surgery.
“I have some tears on both sides of the abdominal muscle,” said Onstad on Saturday. “We are weighing our options right now, but the rehab timeline is pretty long. There is a possible surgical procedure with a quicker timeline. I just have to make a decision with the doctors and decide what is best for me.”
Surprisingly in this situation, surgery gives Onstad the best opportunity to return quicker. As a result, Onstad traveled to Germany to meet with a specialist in abdominal muscle strains Tuesday to get an evaluation.
“Pat is heading to Germany to be evaluated for the abdominal procedure they do over there,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “It is a bit of a blow, but what can you do?”
Tally Hall has stepped in to replace the veteran during his absence. While Hall made a critical mistake against the Columbus Crew on July 24, Kinnear was impressed with the young backstop's ability to bounce back from the gaffe.
“He rebounded well [against Columbus] and made several important saves in that game,” noted the manager. “[Against New York], I thought he did fine, covered his area, and his distribution was fine.”
WATCH:MATCH HIGHLIGHTS: HOU 2, NY 2
Hall’s teammates have faith that the he will step in and play well in Onstad’s absence.
“Barring that one goal in Columbus, Tally’s been fantastic,” said forward Brian Ching. “We have always known he is a good player … because there are a few games before that mistake [against Columbus] where we might not have gotten out with wins or ties. Hats off to him as he put in another good performance this weekend [against New York] and helped keep us in the game.”
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.
