MONTREAL – Good news came in a bunch on the injury front for the Montreal Impact, but Matteo Ferrari’s fitness remains a question mark.
Set to start alongside Alessandro Nesta in central defense on Sunday, Ferrari struggled with a calf injury while warming up and was replaced at the last minute by Karl Ouimette, who played all 90 minutes of the Impact’s 1-1 draw against the Columbus Crew. Absent from training on Tuesday, the 33-year-old center back was scheduled to undergo a preventive MRI test.
“We always must take precautions,” assistant coach Mauro Biello told reporters. “It’s important to see what's going on, whether it’s a small tear or nothing at all. We just want to know how severe the injury is.”
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Less worrying is the case of Marco Di Vaio, who was gently feeling his right thigh as he was subbed off in the 88th minute on Sunday. Biello confirmed that “Marco simply cramped up towards the end of the game,” and Di Vaio looked comfortable during training.
The Impact conveniently won’t play until April 24, against Toronto FC in Amway Canadian Championship action. However, that game will mark the start of a stretch where they will play a game every three days until May 11.
Fortunately, this Tuesday’s training session indicated that the Impact may get some reinforcements soon. Not only did a lively Andrea Pisanu take part in drills, but Sinisa Ubiparipovic, who has been struggling for several weeks with a right calf strain, has started training on the other side of the touchline, with his teammates.
“With all those games coming up, it’s important for the staff to have all those players available,” Biello said. “It’s good, very positive for us. Hopefully, we’ll be able to keep working with them and they’ll be able to contribute.”
