The former Liverpool captain was forced off in the first half of LA’s 0-0 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps after suffering a recurrence of the hamstring problem that bothered him earlier this season.
Steven Gerrard could be facing another spell on the sidelines after coming off injured in the first half of the LA Galaxy’s 0-0 draw with the Vancouver Whitecaps at the StubHub Center on Saturday night.
The 36-year-old midfield lasted only 31 minutes into the match before being replaced by Gyasi Zardes after picking up a hamstring problem, and the club now faces a nervous wait to find out whether he will miss extended time.
He was not the only Galaxy player to suffer an injury on the night either, as defender Jelle van Damme was also forced off just before the half-time break with what was reported as a “left knee issue”.
Bruce Arena’s men still managed to dominate the second half without the veteran duo and captain Robbie Keane, who had already left for international duty before Saturday’s match, but they simply could not find a way to convert their eight corners and 10 total shots into the winner.
“We’ve got to be a bit sharper and the final product has to be a little bit better,” Arena told LAGalaxy.com after the match. “The crossing is not good, the timing of our runs. And when you’ve got a shot, you’ve got to take it.
“We don’t shoot enough, but we’ve got to get a little bit better there. But we see the same thing, I think that’s our league. The league has become a league where, and rightfully so, every game is important. Teams are just trying to get a point. They tend to be very defensive in nature, very rarely do you see two teams going at it a little bit. Every point is sacred. They’re really hard fought games and they tend to have some defensive posture to it.
“So the demands on the attacking team is that you attack well and if you don’t, there’s a chance you’re going to not score a goal and we’ve probably seen that a number of times this year.”
The Galaxy will have the chance to make amends next Saturday when they host Eastern Conference strugglers Columbus Crew SC, but it now remains to be seen whether Gerrard will be available for selection.
The former Liverpool skipper, who joined the MLS club last summer after his contract at Anfield expired, has missed a handful of games over the course of the season due to previous hamstring problems but was putting an impressive run of form together before his latest setback.
He had managed to set up seven goals in eight games before the Whitecaps clash to put him third in the league for assists this season with 11, while also finding the back of the net three times in 19 appearances on the campaign.
His side now sit fourth in the West with 40 points – eight behind first-placed FC Dallas with a game in hand – and have suffered the fewest defeats in the league with just four losses in 26 matches.
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