HARRISON, N.J. – Bradley Wright-Phillips’ quest to break the MLS single season scoring record looks set to take a hit, and the New York Red Bulls do as well.
Wright-Phillips was a notable omission from New York’s Friday training session at Red Bull Arena, a day before the club travels to take on rivals the Philadelphia Union in an Eastern Conference battle (3 pm ET, NBCSN) with playoff implications for both teams.
MLS’s current Golden Boot leader is still dealing with the hamstring injury that forced him out of Wednesday’s 1-0 win vs. D.C. United, and while he has not officially been ruled out, it seems unlikely that Wright-Phillips plays, much less starts, after being a spectator during the Red Bulls’ final preparations.
“Precautionary. Precautionary, right now,” head coach Mike Petke told MLSsoccer.com when asked about Wright-Phillips’ absence. “His hamstring is feeling a little something in there. It’s not pulled. It’s not torn. Precautionary, at this moment.”
If Wright-Phillips is indeed deemed ineligible to play, Petke will need to carefully weigh his options as to who he can use as a replacement. Saer Sene might be the more natural fit, but Tim Cahill is also an option to be deployed up top.
No stranger to serving as a forward, Cahill proved last season that he can be affective when used in a more advanced position. He has also shown that in abundance with Australia this year, shining at the World Cup and scoring nine goals in 16 matches in 2014.
Still, there is a difference in the way he plays as a forward for the Socceroos than he does for the Red Bulls.
“With the Australian team, I know my job,” Cahill told MLSsoccer.com. “I have to make the box and I know where the ball’s going to go before it even gets in there. My last eight games with Australia I’ve scored seven goals and against some of the best teams in the world.
“Here, it’s discipline. It’s hard because even though you make the box, it might not be there, it might be for someone else. You seen the other day when I run into the box, it frees up two other players, so it’s very physical. They mark very well, so as long as someone else is getting in and scoring then that’s great.
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“Overall, domestic to international for me it’s not in the same level when it comes to tactics or whatever. I might play next to Dax [McCarty in central midfield], we might take turns in going. When I come on the other day sitting [vs. D.C. United] next to Dax, possibly I wanted to swap with Peguy [Luyindula] and get up higher and it’s just playing what you have to and adjusting.”
Sene, for his part, feels that he is ready to contribute from the opening whistle if Petke turns to him instead of Cahill. The Frenchman admittedly still needs to work on his sharpness after only recently returning to the field following a long spell of limited action with the New England Revolution, but his chemistry with the likes of Luyindula and Thierry Henry is developing well.
“We’re working on it,” Sene told MLSsoccer.com. “We worked on it a little bit yesterday. Today we trained together, too. Tomorrow is the game and in football it’s about [having that mutual understanding]. If we understand each other, I just have to know what they want and where they want the ball and I kind of know it and we’re going to fight tomorrow first because we’re playing away.
“It’s not going to be easy, and we just try to bring the three points back.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
