Kenny Cooper Out, Ambroise Oyongo In For Montreal Impact
As per Patrick Friolet of RDS, the Montreal Impact will be without the services of Kenny Cooper for at least two months. The striker left the team’s Amway Canadian Championship game in the 32nd minute on Wednesday after suffering what appears to be a knee injury.
On parle d'une absence de quelques mois pour Kenny Cooper. Probablement besoin d'une chirurgie au genou droit. #IMFC #RDS
— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) May 15, 2015
Cooper scored his first goal as a member of the Impact in the 25th minute of the team’s 3-2 loss to Toronto FC that night. Fives minutes later, the American, who was only signed last month after being released by the Seattle Sounders, went down holding his right knee and was subbed off for Jack McInerney. According to Friolet, Cooper may require surgery.
This will be the second time already this season that an Impact front man will be missing an extended length of time due to a knee injury. Cameron Porter was declared out for the year when he had to have his torn ACL operated on.
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It’s a shame the injury happened in Cooper’s first start with his new club and he was playing very well when he got hurt. He had some good looks at goal and his marker was a nice redirect in tight.
Despite the loss to TFC, Montreal is moving on to the final of the competition to face either FC Edmonton or the Vancouver Whitecaps. The winner of the final will qualify for the 2016 CONCACAF Champions League.
Oyongo Ready To Play
There is some good news for the Impact, as Ambroise Oyongo seems to be prepared to start. Friolet is reporting that the Cameroonian international can play a full 90 minutes if he is needed.
For those who have been following the situation, Oyongo was acquired in a trade with the New York Red Bulls that saw Felipe head to Red Bull Arena and Eric Alexander come to Montreal. Trades are unique to Major League Soccer and Oyongo and his agent didn’t fully understand to the rules of such transactions. Four months later and the 23-year-old is finally joining his team.
Le bleu lui va bien. Oyongo portera le #2 avec l'Impact #IMFC #RDS pic.twitter.com/ijlghl8HJT
— Patrick Friolet (@PFrioletRDS) May 15, 2015
The wing-back couldn’t arrive at a better time, as the Impact are dealing with injury problems at the right-back and left-back positions. Hassoun Camara, Victor Cabrera and Donny Toia have all been out of resent lineups and Oyongo could be slotted right into the starting eleven. In addition, he looks to have a good attitude and has said he will play wherever the coach wants him to.
Big Day For FC Montreal
The Impact’s USL affiliate, FC Montreal, won their first match on Thursday on the Saputo Stadium turf field. They blanked the Charleston Battery 1-0 thanks to a first half goal by Louis Beland-Goyette. The midfielder is widely regarded as the USL club’s best player, having spent time with the Impact last season.
The win was extra special for FC Montreal, as they managed to beat the 2nd overall team in the league who had yet to lose this season. The old Montreal Impact and the Battery have a history – they frequently played each other prior to Montreal’s promotion to MLS.
Four players under contact with the Impact made appearances in the game; goalkeeper Maxime Crepeau, midfielder Jeremy Gagnon-Lapare and strikers Romario Williams and Anthony Jackson-Hamel. The latter two could be seeing some significant playing time with the big club now that Cooper is out.