Nigeria striker Obafemi Martins has been ruled out for three to six weeks, Seattle Sounders FC coach Sigi Schmid has revealed.
Schmid whose back-up striker for Martins, Chad Barrett was also ruled out of the game due to injury disclosed that his side's disappointing 2-0 loss to the San Jose Earthquakes at CenturyLink Field on Sunday was down to the absence of his deadly strike force.
"Without Dempsey providing life-giving shocks via his deep drops into the midfield and Martins taking pressure off the wide players, the attack didn’t produce a shot on goal in the second half and only forced Bingham to make three saves," Schmid told the Sounders official website.
Meanwhile, Zach Scott warned his teammates not to be over reliant on the duo of Martins and Dempsey.
The two have 14 combined goals this season, the best for any forward duo in the league, and they occupy holes no team in the league could fill with selfsame pieces.
Martins’ is the most deadly speed threat in the league, and Dempsey’s technical ability dropping deeper into the midfield is invaluable and irreplaceable. Indeed, it would be on any team in the league.
“I think when the other team sees that those guys aren’t playing, maybe they think they can press a little higher, that they don’t have to be worried about a guy like Oba’s speed or a guy like Clint’s technical ability,” defender Zach Scott said via the club’s official website.
“We’ve got to find different ways to score, then. We can’t rely on those two. We’ve got to be a little more dynamic and a little less predictable.”
COMMENTS
Imagine,glowing accolades for a striker that was seemingly snubbed from the national team setup and still proving worthy at club level. It really pains me that Martins has left the Super Eagles.