Just days from triumphantly reing the Mexican national team after a 14-month hiatus, San Diego FC winger Hirving “Chucky” Lozano had those dreams dashed with a twinge in his left hamstring.
Lozano dropped to the Snapdragon Stadium turf in the 64th minute of last Saturday’s 2-0 win against Austin FC and grabbed the back of his leg, and the resulting scans were not good. On Wednesday, Mexico announced he is officially out for two tune-ups plus the CONCACAF Gold Cup that runs June 14 through July 6.
SDFC is not expected to provide an update on the severity of the injury until coach Mikey Varas meets with the media on Thursday, but the 29-year-old left winger is known to have remained in San Diego for rehab.
“San Diego FC reported and sent tests showing that Hirving Lozano has a left hamstring injury that prevents him from traveling to the rest of the squad,” the national team said in a statement Wednesday morning. “The Mexican National Team wishes (him) a speedy recovery.”
Mexico has friendlies against Switzerland on Saturday and Turkey on Tuesday, then begins preparations for the Gold Cup. Coach Javier Aguirre’s team opens the 16-team regional championship against the Dominican Republic on June 14 at SoFi Stadium in Inglewood.
SDFC, meanwhile, has a friendly Saturday night at Snapdragon Stadium against Mexico’s Club América. The game will likely feature a healthy dose of second-stringers, with SDFC missing seven starters to international duty or, in Lozano’s case, injury. Club América, which is in the Liga MX offseason, has four players away with El Tri and another with Colombia.
Central midfielder Anibal Godoy has been named to Panama’s Gold Cup roster. Fellow midfielder Luca de la Torre is a candidate to play for the United States; both players could miss at least two and possibly four MLS matches.
Lozano injured the same hamstring in the home opener March 1 and missed most of the month.
“I feel for the guy because he’s gaining such rhythm right now,” Varas said after Saturday’s game. “Hopefully it’s not as big a setback as last time. What I do know about him is, whatever it is, he’s going to confront it with his head up, chest out and do all the things he needs to do to get back.
“Playing at this level is about taking a certain about of risk always, because the margins are so small. The biggest predictor of injury typically is injury history in whatever spot that is. We’ve been trying to work, in of analysis, on what’s his right pre-match, pre-training, post-training (regimen).”
