Wednesday's action kicked off a huge double-game week in MLS Fantasy Manager. Unfortunately, though many were confident they'd be swimming in points by the end of the night, a healthy chunk of managers went to bed without any peace.
Some people rejoicing as Robbie Keane got back to doing what Robbie Keane does, while others were left groaning and moaning about what coulda, shoulda, woulda been. Injuries, red cards and a few notable benchings made for a rather frustrating night of viewing if you didn't play your cards rights. That is, unless you captained Keane or started the likes of Gyasi Zardes, Benny Feilhaber, Conor Casey or Stefan Ishizaki.
No one pulled off that exact foursome, but there was one manager who captained Keano while also starting Ishizaki, Casey and Jermain Defoe. The result was a whopping 91 points with just four games spent and nine still remaining.
If for whatever reason you missed last night's games and woke up this morning wondering what happened to your finely tuned squad, here's a quick recap.
Injuries
Two of the most notable players to limp off on Wednesday were the Union's Cristian Maidana and Toronto FC's Mark Bloom. As you can see below, Maidana left (in the 33rd minute) with a hamstring injury that had him writhing on the ground. The likelihood of him suiting up on Saturday ... gotta think it's not good.
Bloom's injury looked just as painful, and it's one to follow for all fantasy managers. In his collision with Vancouver's Erik Hurtado, the second-year Toronto player slammed his left knee on the ground. He stayed in the game and limped around for a few minutes before being subbed off in the 55th minute.
There's the potential that he could play against the Houston Dynamo on Saturday, but don't count on it. The latest diagnosis is that it's an injury to his MCL which usually takes anywhere from a couple weeks to several months to fully heal.
Teammate Jackson also left the midweek clash against Vancouver early after tweaking his hamstring.
UPDATE: Bloom out 4-6 weeks and Jackson out 10-14 days per Toronto FC reporter Armen Bedakian. (Click HERE)
Suspensions
Four players saw red on Wednesday night. Aurelien Collin, Dan Gargan and A.J. Soares were awarded straight red cards while the Columbus Crew's Wil Trapp was hit with double yellows.
More than a few fantasy managers are hoping Peter Vermes and Sporting KC will appeal Collin's red card, which seemed a bit excessive. Regardless, the points are gone. Any rescinded red card will not warrant a refund in points.
Overall, it wasn't the best day for the Frenchman. Collin also "took this one for the team" before being sent off.
Here's how the Dream Team for Round 19 looks so far...
