LA Galaxy forward Chicharito to miss start of season

Just days before what was supposed to be the start of the 2023 season for the LA Galaxy, there was word they would have to kick-off the new campaign without star striker, Javier ‘Chicharito’ Hernandez. That was confirmed by the player himself on Tuesday during one of his Twitch streams, where he was very open with fans about his thoughts on his timeline of recovery.

As you would imagine, LA galaxy Head Coach Greg Vanney wasn't too thrilled that his star player was so open with information the club would most definitely like to keep within the locker room. Speaking to media yesterday, Greg Vanney expressed as much when asked if it mattered that Chicharito was so willing to give up that information. “It matters. For us, things like that are internal and for club release. That’s been shared [with Chicharito].” He continued, “Ultimately, there's a way, a time, and a place to give that because it's also about the competition, game prep, all those types of things. It’s not earth-shattering in this situation, but in different circumstances this could be very important information you give to the other team.”

As for the exact timeline, even that part was made more unclear, as Vanney seemed to express 2-5 weeks perhaps being a bit on the longer side of things. “I don't know exactly. 2-5 weeks is a long range. Our anticipation was a Grade 1 hamstring strain which is 10 days to a couple of weeks. Then on return to play, seeing how long it takes him to get to maximum fitness. I don't know if that’s two weeks, three weeks or four. Right now he is still in the treatment phase.”

While an exact timeline seems to be uncertain, one thing is for sure, this team will be without Chicharito for at least the first handful of matches. Luckily, the team already has their future secured, but it will still be interesting to see how this team navigates such a big injury, before the season even gets started.

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