Atlanta United announced today that midfielder Miguel Almiron will miss at least three weeks due to what has turned out to be a left hamstring injury. With the club sitting on the verge of clinching a playoff spot - a win over the Philadelphia Union at Mercedes-Benz Stadium will do it - the news isn’t completely dire as it could put him on a timetable to return before the postseason begins on October 25 of, if Atlanta are able to clinch at least second, on October 30.
The news will be more damaging to Almiron’s home country from a World Cup qualifying standpoint. Paraguay, who sit three points behind Peru and Argentina in CONMEBOL but behind on goal differential, face third-place Colombia next Thursday before hosting minnow Venezuela on October 10. Almiron will be unavailable for both matches.
We speculated here on DSS as to who might take Almiron’s place moving forward. Haris mentioned that Julian Gressel (who came on for Almiron a third of the way into the match on Sunday) could play out wide, with Yamil Asad stepping in at CAM. Or, they could opt for a straight swap and simply have Gressel handle the CAM slot himself while keeping Asad and Tito Villalba as the wide men.
At the end of the day, it could be much worse for Atlanta. But they will need to navigate the remainder of the regular season without him, and maybe slightly longer.