Franco Escobar suffers concussion, return date unknown

When Franco Escobar was stretchered off the Mercedes-Benz Stadium field in second half stoppage time against the Vancouver Whitecaps after a blow to the head, fears set in that the defender had suffered a concussion.

Those fears were realized on Wednesday as an Atlanta United spokesperson confirmed that Escobar has officially been diagnosed with a concussion and placed in the league’s mandatory concussion protocol.

An estimated time for Escobar’s recovery has not been given. He will stay in concussion protocol until he is deemed symptom free. Then he will be allowed to resume training.

The Five Stripes have around 10 days of rest time while the international break occurs for the majority of MLS. If Escobar is still recovering when Atlanta travel north to take on Minnesota United on March 31 it will open up a question of who would slot into the 23-year-old’s spot and what spot that would actually be.

You would have to think that if Escobar is out, the 3-5-2, especially away from home, is out of the equation. So, who could fill at in right back? Options could include Miles Robinson, Andrew Wheeler-Omiunu, Sal Zizzo and even possibly Julian Gressel, who has thrived in a right wingback spot as of late.

Hopefully these questions won’t need to be answered and Escobar is fit to play soon. If he’s not, let us know in the comments how you see the lineup shaping up.