It’s been a frustrating season for Atlanta United left back George Bello - the 17-year-old simply can’t get on the field while battling various injuries. Today, Atlanta United announced that he would miss the next two to three months with an injury to his right adductor, the same injury that shelved Darlington Nagbe last year.
So what’s next? The obvious choice would be to continue to pencil Brek Shea in as the No. 1 left back for now with Mikey Ambrose still working to get back to fitness. But what about beyond that with Atlanta’s depth at LB even more compromised than it already was? Jose Hernandez might be an option, but he’d command an international slot and would be able to be recalled from ATL UTD 2 only if his loan contract stipulated as much. (In the case of the former, Gordon Wild is reportedly close to getting his green card.) If Shea were to go down, Michael Parkhurst and Leandro Gonzalez Pirez have played left back, but that was in a 3-4-3 formation.
As for Bello, it’s another setback for a player that was expected to see a great deal of time in 2019. He has yet to appear in an MLS match with the first team and hasn’t played at all since ATL UTD 2’s season opener against Hartford Athletic on March 9. For now, the teenager is left no option to rest up and hope to get back on the field later in the summer.