New York City Interim Head Coach Nick Cushing has shared a positive update on Thiago Martins, revealing the injury sustained in Sunday’s trip to Orlando is not as serious as first feared.
The defender was forced off in the 25th minute of the game in Florida, sparking concern for the Boys in Blue with the squad already struggling for numbers with several key men sidelined.
However, previewing Wednesday night’s visit of D.C. United, Cushing explained the results from Martins’ assessment had allayed concerns of a lengthy lay-off.
Though this game comes too soon for the Brazilian, there was brighter news with the return of Santiago Rodríguez from suspension.
“It’s not as serious as we first thought,” he explained of Martins’ injury. “It’s an irritation of a previous injury but only a slight irritation.
“He won’t be available for the game with D.C. but he won’t be out for long so we’re pleased with that – originally, we thought it would be a lot more serious than it was and it’s not.
“Of course, we have a quick turnaround but everyone else who was available for Orlando is available, and we have Santi Rodríguez back, which is a huge positive for us.”
Martins’ injury at Exploria Stadium meant young right-back Tayvon Gray was called in to deputize at center-back, earning praise from his coach after the game for his performance.
Cushing admitted the 20-year-old may be required to repeat the feat, highlighting the defender’s previous experience of occupying the role.
“People can see we don’t have so many options when we have the injuries we have,” he continued.
“After the game at Orlando, I was asked about my decision to play Tayvon Gray at center-half and it was a pretty simple one because he’s played there as an Under-17 in a World Cup.
“He’s been a real high performer for us at right-back over the last six to eight months and we don’t have too many guys with that experience at this level.
“When I said he was the only one, I meant that it was a simple decision because he’s a really good player. He did a good job for us.
“He and Maxime [Chanot] had real good cohesion between them. They’re close off the pitch as well so it doesn’t surprise me.
“Playing with Maxime has been a good experience for Tayvon through the playoffs last year and this season, being a young player.
“We have options there. Anton [Tinnerholm] is turning games around, Malte [Amundsen] has been a good performer for us this year. We also have players on the bench that can go in and do a job – players who haven’t played so many games but we have trust in them.
“At this moment, there are opportunities for other players. We’ve seen it with Justin Haak and Nico Acevedo and we believe in other members of the squad that if they get the opportunity, they will go in and do a good job this year.”
New York welcome D.C. United to Red Bull Arena with Wayne Rooney’s side having suffered a difficult season so far, currently sitting bottom of the Eastern Conference and winless in their last six, losing their last four.
However, the Black-and-Red received a boost with the news that Belgian Forward Christian Benteke is set to make his debut and while Cushing admitted his side must be wary of their quality, insists his squad will be focused on their own game and are relishing the chance to return to spark an upturn in fortunes.
“For us, it’s about concentrating on ourselves,” he stated. “Of course, we look at the opposition – Ola Kamara, before the head injury Taxi Fountas, Christian Benteke… but the nature of this league is that there’s quality in every team.
“Irrelevant of their league position, there’s high quality in every team and we have to be aware of that.
“The team make sure we control the space, control the opposition, and don’t give attackers of D.C. opportunities to get chances to score because of that quality.
“If you read the article [from D.C. on Benteke] it says they will start him and then further down, it says he will play 20 minutes so we won’t read into anything because we know we can’t control it.
“You have to look as these guys in the eyes and see where they are as individuals and as a group, and what I see is a huge hunger and desire to get back to winning ways.
“What I see is a group that’s incredibly together and incredibly motivated to continue to push the league position we are in, and a group of guys who understand the nature of this league.
“From our point of view as staff, we have to look at performance and we have huge positives in parts of our performance: the organization defensively, the goal being a good example of how together we are when we’re pressing high – we turn the ball over and between Thiago [Andrade], Talles [Magno] and Maxi [Moralez], we create a really good goal.“Although it’s disappointing, at times we will go through these difficult periods and it’s how we react to them.
“The things we’re trying to play on the training pitch, the players are trying to play that on the pitch – the moments where we get Talles in, Gabriel [Pereira] in and nearly get Thiago in: those moments of attacking spaces, where the attacking guys are really trying to develop our offensive game where we can put teams under pressure away from home in these road games.
“For me, it’s about the foundation we’re working from. I’m happy – of course, I’m disappointed but I’m happy that the foundation is in and the opportunity to turn this around is there. We’re not so far away.”
