Michelle Kaufman has reported when Jordi Alba could return to action for Inter Miami after picking up an injury last week.
The 35-year-old defender suffered a hamstring problem in the Herons’ 3-2 win against Sporting Kansas City, with Alba going down in the second-half and since not returning to Inter Miami training having missed this weekend’s game against Nashville SC.
With the Florida franchise also losing Diego Gomez on Saturday with the midfielder expected to be out for up to six weeks, injury problems continue to plague Inter Miami, who also have Facundo Farias and Federico Redondo out on the sideline.
And there’s now a timeline for when Alba could return to action.
Alba set to be out until mid-May despite eagerness to play for Inter Miami
As reported by the Miami Herald’s Kaufman, Alba is expected to be out for up to four weeks, with the Florida derby against Orlando City next month a fixture that the veteran defender could return for.
Kaufman posted: “According to a reliable source, Jordi Alba is eager to get back, but may be out 3-4 weeks, which would put his return at mid-May (Montreal or Orlando game)”
Whilst Inter Miami did well on Saturday without Alba, the defender being out for nearly a month coupled with Gomez’s injury is nothing but bad news for the Herons heading into their upcoming MLS fixtures.
Indeed, a real case can be made that their luck with injuries this season has been the worst out of any club in the division, and Alba’s latest blow is a testament to such a statement, with many keys players now unavailable.
Inter Miami need to learn to play without key defender
Although losing Alba is a blow for Inter Miami, it’s not the end of the world for the Florida franchise given the options Tata Martino has who can play at left-back if needed.
This weekend against Nashville showed that the Herons have the players needed to cover Alba for the time being in Franco Negri and Noah Allen, two players who have impressed for Inter Miami when given the chance.
With Alba only out until May, Inter Miami can survive without their key defender, with the upcoming games against the likes of the New England Revolution and the New York Red Bulls opportunities for a new star to emerge.
