The retooled Los Angeles Galaxy roster will undergo even further changes for Saturday’s regular-season opener with forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez ruled out of the game due to lingering hamstring issues.
Hernandez confirmed his status in an Instagram post, saying the injury likely will keep him out “for a while.”
The 34-year-old Hernandez, whose Galaxy career has been hampered by injuries, has been struggling with his hamstring throughout training camp. He left one preseason game after three minutes.
Hernandez led Los Angeles last season with 18 goals in 32 regular-season games and had a pair of assists. He has 35 combined goals over the past two seasons.
The Galaxy are expected to lean on super-sub Dejan Joveljic at forward for Saturday’s game against rival Los Angeles FC. Joveljic was second on the Galaxy with 11 goals last season despite starting just seven of his 32 games played.
An MLS-record crowd of over 75,000 is expected for Saturday’s game at the Rose Bowl in Pasadena, Calif., despite the forecast of rainy conditions.
“It’s the ‘next man up’ mentality,” Galaxy defender Raheem Edwards said, according to the team website. “Dejan Joveljic has been excellent last year. So for him to possibly get the start, just filling the shoes of Chicharito is something that we as a team have full confidence in him.”
The Galaxy saw the departure of 11 players during the offseason, with midfielder Tyler Boyd and forward/midfielder Memo Rodriguez as key new additions. The team is close to signing defender Lucas Calegari from Brazil and midfielder Isco of Spain, according to the Los Angeles Times.
–Field Level Media