Nashville SC are riding high coming off their 3-0 Play-In Round romp over Inter Miami CF in the 2020 Audi MLS Cup Playoffs, but the postgame festivities were tempered somewhat by the injury loss of a key contributor.
Speaking with ESPN's Jon Champion and Taylor Twellman after the match, Nashville head coach Gary Smith confirmed that midfielder Anibal Godoy suffered a hamstring injury that could sideline the veteran holding midfielder for the club's Round One matchup with Toronto FC on Tuesday.
"Probably one of the most difficult pieces of tonight is losing Anibal," Smith said. "It looks like he's done his hamstring. He was carrying a bit of a problem."
In his post-match pres conference, Smith said confirmed that Godoy's status for Tuesday is in serious doubt.
"He came off against Orlando with a tight hamstring. And over the last 12 days we've nursed him through that and got him to a point where, to be perfectly honest, morning, noon and night he’s been working hard to get himself fit, to be in the right place and he’s looked great," Smith said. "The crazy thing is, he was about three minutes away from coming off."
"I don't quite know the full extent of it. I'm disappointed, obviously, that’s he's been forced off. But I think we'll find out how bad it is in the next 24 hours or so. At this point, it's difficult to work out if he's got a muscle strain or it’s just severe tightness. If it's the latter there's a good chance he'll be available for Tuesday and if it's the first one, I guess there won't be much chance in the quick turnaround."
Godoy played the first 74 minutes of the contest, helping Nashville race out to the three-goal advantage before he came off with knock and was replaced by Tah Anunga.
Godoy has been a stalwart for Smith's group throughout the season, starting 18 of his 20 appearances and logging 1,494 minutes. The 30-year-old Panamanian joined Nashville for its inaugural MLS season after spending the first five seasons of his career with the San Jose Earthquakes.
"He's been unbelievable," added Smith. "He's been an integral part of how we've moved, developed and what we've become. Just a top, top player, he’s a terrific professional as well. He’s a great character, and he's given us incredible stability on and off the field."
