Atlanta United's Tristan Muyumba is expected to miss three weeks with two right leg injuries. The club announced Tuesday the midfielder suffered a right calf strain and a right lateral collateral ligament (LCL) sprain against FC Cincinnati. He will rehab the injuries with the goal of returning much sooner than the club originally feared when he was stretchered off in the 41st minute of Saturday's match.
The Frenchman suffered the injury after putting in a slide tackle. His momentum shot him back up after the slide, and his knee bent awkwardly as he stood up. He stayed down on the pitch for a couple of minutes and was unable to leave under his own power.
Muyumba's injury comes at an unfortunate time for him, as he had strung together a couple of impressive performances. He shined in starts against New York Red Bulls and Inter Miami, stepping up with Mateusz Klich missing time. The midfielder led the squad in passing through the first five matches, completing 92.6 percent of his 163 attempts.
Muyumba was also making huge strides as a chance creator. His 0.59 expected goal assists per 90 is second in MLS this season. That means, per 90 minutes, his passes were creating over half an expected goal per game. That kind of production out of a defensive midfielder is impressive and will be missed.
Will Reilly's emergence in the Cincinnati game is reassuring after news of Muyumba's recovery timeline dropped. The Homegrown midfielder played a full 90 against the Orange and Blue and received high praise from head coach Ronny Deila. He'll provide depth at the position in Muyumba's absence.
