KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Winger Krisztian Nemeth will miss a second straight match for Sporting Kansas City as he continues to recover from a sprained right knee.
The Hungarian international, acquired in the offseason from Dutch side Roda JC Kerkrade, sustained the injury in training late last week and did not travel with the club on Friday for Saturday's match against expansion New York City FC (7 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
On Thursday, during the club's weekly news conference, manager Peter Vermes said Nemeth had been doing some running and categorized his status as day-to-day. He also specified that the injury was to the medial collateral ligament.
“If he's even feeling anything, he's not playing,” Vermes said. “There's no sense in doing that, because then he's – it's an MCL, and those things, you've got to be very careful with them. If it goes the wrong way, it's six weeks. Right now, it's two weeks. That's very different.”
Nemeth, who led Sporting with five goals in the preseason but has yet to find the net in the regular season, started Sporting's first two matches of 2015 before the injury. He will be one of three regulars out for Saturday's match, with midfielder Roger Espinoza and left back Marcel De Jong on international duty with Honduras and Canada, respectively.
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Jimmy Medranda started at right wing in last weekend's scoreless home draw against Portland, creating several chances in the attack and earning Vermes' praise for his energetic play, but Vermes has never been one for revealing his lineups ahead of a match day.
“Jimmy did well, but I have confidence in all our guys,” Vermes said. “I feel good putting anybody out there. It's what's going to be the best group.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
