D.C. United’s road to a second straight regular season Eastern Conference title just got a bit trickier. On Monday the club announced that defender Chris Korb had a sustained a torn ACL in his right knee in the club’s 1-0 loss to New York City F.C. Washington Post writer Steve Goff has reported that the injury will keep him out for the remainder of the 2015 season.
Korb made eighteen appearances for United this season, 17 of which were starts, and has been a linchpin for the D.C. defense since joining the club in 2011. His work at both left and right back is a major reason for the club’s stout defensive numbers in 2015. The team has allowed just 29 goals this season, which is second the lowest in the Eastern Conference and the sixth-lowest in all of Major League Soccer.
As opposed to the forward position D.C. does have some options to replace Korb. Although Korb can play pretty much everywhere along the back four he has mostly been used at right-back this season. Veteran right-back Sean Franklin has finally returned to full health after suffering from a bout of Achilles tendinitis and appears to be ready to take back his starting spot.
D.C. United Kofi Opare (photo credit: Diego Muya)
The other interesting option would be Kofi Opare. Opare has made thirteen starts with the D.C. defense this season but only one since June. The 24-year old Ghanaian can play either as a center-back or at right-back although it appears that Olsen likes to use him more as the back-up for Steve Birnbaum and Bobby Boswell.
While replacing Korb in the starting lineup might not be an issue, replacing his spot in terms of squad depth does pose a problem. Removing Korb from the eighteen man roster likely means that Luke Mishu and Jalen Robinson will be asked to contribute more to the senior squad. Mishu was signed by United as an undrafted rookie out of the University of Notre Dame while Robinson is a Homegrown Player who is thought of highly but has yet to play a single match in MLS. It should be noted that Robinson did play for United during last year’s CONCACAF Champions League run.
The club does have other options. Midfielders Nick De Leon, Markus Halsti, Michael Farfan, Steve Birnbaum and Davy Arnaud have all played in the defense before. But would Olsen be willing to move one of his pieces from the other parts of the pitch to compensate for their loss?
D.C. United will start CONCACAF Champions League play on Wednesday night when they travel to Panama to take on Arabe Unido. Both Mishu and Robinson are expected to make the trip.
DC United
