This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Portland, Ore. • Javier Morales stood behind the ball chatting with Joao Plata in a zone where both Real Salt Lake stars were certainly capable of providing the kind of moment RSL needed. Down 1-0 in Major League Soccer's loudest environment midway through the second half, a free kick 22 yards from goal was to be either Morales' or Plata's.
Morales was just 20 minutes into his second-half substitute role after RSL coach Jeff Cassar inserted the club's playmaker to inject a boost after a lackluster first 45 minutes. Morales took the free kick, sending it toward the far-right corner but barely over the bar. The 36-year-old came down somewhat awkwardly on his right leg and limped a bit.
He'd gut it out for the next 10 minutes or so, but finally, Morales could no longer go. One of RSL's attacking centerpieces walked off the turf inside Providence Park and straight for the locker room. After the 1-0 loss to the Portland Timbers, it was classified as a right quadriceps injury by RSL coach Jeff Cassar.
"I don't know to what level," Cassar added.
RSL continues to box out for a high seed in the Western Conference playoff race, but with the regular-season matches dwindling away — only five remain for RSL — Morales' impact and production will be hard to replicate.
"He's a tough guy to replace," defender Chris Wingert said. "I think it's a committee thing. It's not enough to put it on one guy. Hopefully he's not, but if he's going to be out a little while, we all just have to pick up our game a little bit."
The rise of RSL's front three of Plata, Yura Movsisyan and Burrito Martinez (combined 25 goals and 17 assists in 2016) has lessened the sting of injury. Diversifying the attack with so many players capable on the ball might get RSL by for a bit, depending on the Morales' recovery timeline.
And Morales' numbers have dipped in 2016 with four goals and four assists in 25 appearances, 20 of which are starts. The last three seasons, he has eclipsed double-digit assist marks and in 2012 he came one shy with nine.
"It'll be a bit different," Movsisyan said, "but obviously we've got Jordan [Allen] and other guys that can step up and play that position, so we should be able to fill in in a good way."
The 21-year-old Allen started Saturday against the Timbers, but struggled to find his place in Morales' role. Cassar replaced Allen with Morales at halftime. It was Allen's first starting nod at the attacking point of RSL's three-man midfield since the home opener on March 12 against Seattle.
As mentioned by Wingert, RSL might have to rely on an approach by committee should Morales miss some time here in the stretch run to the postseason. Midfielder Luke Mulholland could get the nod or Cassar could see how Martinez fares in a more central area of the field. RSL also recently signed academy product Ricardo Velazco, who'd been leading Real Monarchs in goals and assists in 2016.
"In a nutshell, [Morales] embodies the way we really like to play," Wingert said.
Now comes the waiting game for RSL, Morales and those possibly tasked with playing that position.
Twitter: @chriskamrani