Injuries are the wildcard in sports that can alter the trajectory of tournaments and even seasons. Teams plan for them by making sure to build in roster depth, but they can’t be planned for in terms of specific players.
For instance, the Vancouver Canucks could not have anticipated being without the offensive prowess of Elias Pettersson for such a long stretch.
Thomas Meilleur-Giguère of Pacific FC and Callum Montgomery of Lantzville were expected to anchor the backline for Canada U-23 at the CONCACAF qualifying tournament in Mexico for the Tokyo Olympics.
Those plans have been thrown into disarray by injuries to both central defenders. Meilleur-Giguère was hurt in the final training session in Guadalajara and flew back to Victoria with an MCL injury. That was a rough blow for a player being considered for the Canadian captain’s armband. Meilleur-Giguère is expected back on the pitch for PFC in time for the start of the Canadian Premier League season on May 22.
Montgomery started the first game for Canada, a 2-0 victory over El Salvador, but did not return for the second half with an undisclosed injury and was replaced by former Pacific FC player David Norman Jr.
Montgomery, the former Victoria Highlanders captain and B.C. high school champion with St. Michaels University School, did not return for the scoreless second-game draw against Haiti.
Montgomery is expected to dress today for the final group game against Honduras, but it is unknown how much he can play.
Don’t count him out. Montgomery is a tough guy and has proved it. He has two titanium plates in the upper cheek after a cleat to the head left him prone and motionless on the Centennial Stadium pitch with a season-ending tripod fracture in a frightening moment during a 2017 game with the Highlanders in the amateur PDL.
He does not remember much of the incident — it’s a blur — but that did not deter the gutsy and talented six-foot-three Islander from sticking his head into the thick of the action in subsequent seasons.
He went on to be selected fourth overall in the first round of the 2019 Major League Soccer draft, out of UNC-Charlotte of the NCAA, and is on the verge of making his MLS debut this season with Minnesota United. The return of Montgomery to the Canadian roster today would be much welcomed.
“We do not have much flexibility there,” Canadian head coach Mauro Biello said of the situation in central defence.
A win or draw today against Honduras will see Canada through to the semifinals on Sunday. So, too, will a draw between Haiti and El Salvador in the earlier group game.
“The mindset has to be always to win,” Biello said.
During a virtual news conference, Biello addressed what he will do in case of a favourable draw in the Haiti-El Salvador game: “For sure, we have to know and understand all these scenarios and have the solutions so we can make those decisions as needed. We don’t want to enter that next round on empty versus one of the two top teams. That’s where we have to be good at managing the game once we know the clarity of that game before us.”
The top two from the group advance to play either the United States or Mexico — who topped the other group and are favoured CONCACAF heavyweights — in the semifinals. The semifinal winners will capture the two CONCACAF berths into the Tokyo Olympic Games this summer.
Canada has not qualified for the Olympics in men’s soccer since defender Ian Bridge of Victoria and current University of Victoria Vikes coach and then Canada-captain Bruce Wilson reached the quarter-finals of the 1984 Los Angeles Games before losing to Brazil on penalty kicks.
cdheensaw@timescolonist.com
— With a file from The Canadian Press
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