Arena on Zolak & Bertrand: Revolution “have options” to replace Dylan Borrero
The first-place New England Revolution are hitting the road for three straight MLS games away from home, beginning this Saturday against Toronto FC at BMO Field in their first of two meetings this season. Bruce Arena’s squad is coming off a 1-1 draw with FC Cincinnati last Saturday in a battle of the Eastern Conference’s two clear frontrunners.
New England gained a crucial point, but lost one of its best attacking players, as Dylan Borrero came off on a stretcher in the first half with what Arena called a “serious” knee injury. Zolak asked Arena today just how severe the injury is for the Revs’ winger.
“Well, it’s not a good one. There’s a lot of damage in his knee – the ligaments, the cartilage, and all of that,” Arena said of the young Colombian. “He’s going to have to work hard to get back on the field. I’m confident he’ll do that. He’s 21 years old, so there’s no reason to believe that he can’t overcome this injury and be the player he’s been.”
The Revolution overcame Borrero’s absence and an early goal by the visitors to secure the draw against Cincinnati. New England has yet to lose on its home turf, but now take their unbeaten streak on the road to battle Toronto in their first of two trips to Canada this season. Whether home or on the road, Arena expects the same mentality from his team.
“I think we did well. We created the best chances of the game, could have got a second goal. We were lucky that the referee overruled on a potential penalty kick in favor of Cincinnati, but overall, I think our second half, we played well. First half was a little shaky in the early going, but after about 15 minutes I thought our team played fairly well.”
“Well, we certainly want to win some of these games. There’s no question about that,” Arena quipped. “Our attitude when we go out on the road is to not change anything we’re doing, try to be the same team on the road as we are at home, and try to walk away with three points.”
Arena knows he will need to make some adjustments to account for losing Borrero, whose ability to undress a defense at full speed is not easily matched. For him, it’s just another opportunity to showcase New England’s attacking depth.
“I don’t think it’ll be a like-for-like kind of replacement. We have some players that haven’t played much as of late such as Bobby Wood, [Giacomo] Vrioni, and Gustavo Bou. They are all options to play back up front, and [Jozy] Altidore as well, so we have options,” Arena said. “It’s just a question of making slight adjustments to our team to accommodate for those players, but I’m confident we can get the job done.”
New England and Toronto will kick off at 7:30 p.m. on Saturday night from Ontario. Brad Feldman and Charlie Davies will have the call on 98.5 The Sports Hub, or watch the match on MLS Season Pass on Apple TV.
