Antony to miss 6 to 8 weeks as Timbers' summer takes a hit
Portland's leading scorer injured his hamstring in the second half against San Jose.
BEAVERTON — The Portland Timbers returned to training this week without one of their most important players on the pitch. And according to manager Phil Neville, it’s going to be quite a bit of time before Antony returns.
Antony, the Timbers’ leading scorer with six goals, is expected to miss six to eight weeks following a hamstring injury sustained in the 46th minute of Portland’s 1-1 draw with San Jose on June 13.
Just out of the locker room to start the second half, Antony drove the ball across midfield, tangled with San Jose’s DeJuan Jones and fell awkwardly to the ground. Antony got up and limped around the field for the next few minutes before dropping to the turf in the 49th while grabbing his left hamstring.
“Disappointing because Antony was in incredible form,” Neville said on Tuesday. “What are we now, 10 days into Antony’s injury? So hopefully that six to eight weeks is now five weeks, but it’s going to be near six to eight weeks because his game is built on speed and that sort of acceleration at top speed. And with hamstring injuries, with those types of players, you’ve got to take it safe.”
The severity of Antony’s injury, coupled with a hand injury sustained by Ariel Lassiter last week while playing for Costa Rica that will keep him out “about two weeks,” has suddenly depleted Portland on the left side.