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Timbers relieved Nagbe not hurt worse

Midfielder will not play tonight against FC Dallas

By Paul Danzer, Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter
Published: April 12, 2016, 8:17pm

PORTLAND — Big relief.

That was the way Portland Timbers coach Caleb Porter described his reaction to the news that Darlington Nagbe suffered only a sprained ankle when he was chopped down by Los Angeles Galaxy midfielder Nigel De Jong on Sunday.

Porter said on Tuesday that both an MRI and X-rays revealed that no bones were broken. The coach did not say how long Nagbe might be sidelined, except that the midfielder will not play Wednesday against FC Dallas and is unlikely to play on Saturday against San Jose.

As for the fate of De Jong — a player with a history of injuring opponents with reckless tackles, including a boot to the chest of Spain’s Xabi Alonso in the 2014 World Cup final — the MLS disciplinary committee had not as of Tuesday afternoon announced any suspension for the Galaxy midfielder. Porter said he expects de Jong to be suspended.

Assuming de Jong is suspended, this marks the third time this season a Timbers opponent was suspended for a foul that did not draw a red card during the match.

Orlando City’s Brek Shea was suspended and missed a match at Philadelphia for a foul on April 3 against Dairon Asprilla that earned a yellow card on the field. Real Salt Lake’s Juan Manuel Martinez was suspended one game for a foul that sent Nagbe crawling to the sideline the March 19 match at Portland that also drew a yellow card.

Porter expressed frustration that his team did not benefit from any of those red card-worthy fouls. In the case of the de Jong incident, Porter noted that it would have improved the odds of the Timbers holding their 1-0 lead and leaving L.A. with a win.

Jack Jewsbury said he did not realize until seeing a replay how bad the foul was, but called it “very disturbing.”

Jewsbury noted that MLS said this season that it wants referees to give red cards for fouls that endanger the safety of a player.

“They want to protect the playmakers in the league and Darlington’s absolutely one of those,” Jewsbury said.

Now that Nagbe has been with the U.S. national team, Porter hopes he gets more respect from referees following this incident.

“Darlington’s one that people think you can boot him a bit and he’s going to fade in the game. We’ve seen that trend. It’s not just some teams, it’s most every team tries to chop our rhythm and his rhythm. And he’s on the ball a lot. So you put those things together and that’s why he’s one of the most fouled guys in the league,” Porter said.

Thankful that Nagbe’s injury was not worse, Porter said the incident might galvanize the Timbers.

“(It’s) unfortunate that Darlington’s going to be out. But I think the group will step up in his absence and we’l be a stronger team in the long run because of this,” Porter said.

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Columbian Soccer, hockey and Community Sports Reporter