5.22.2007

Albright May Miss Season

The L.A. Galaxy have had their share of defensive problems so far this year, but none bigger than Tuesday's news that U.S. international Chris Albright will likely miss the rest of the season due to his hamstring injury.

Albright suffered the injury early in the first half of Sunday's Super Clasico against Chivas USA. He returned to the sidelines in the second half on crutches, never a good sign. An MRI revealed the severity of Albright's injury: "He really tore his hamstring badly, right off the bone. That's another blow to us. He's having an operation on Thursday," said L.A. head coach Frank Yallop.

It is a double whammy for Albright: Not only will he miss out on David Beckham's arrival to the team, but he will also miss Copa America and the Gold Cup. He was expected to be called up to the squad for at least one of the tourneys.

But Albright is keeping his chin up: "It's disappointing, obviously. It's not the best timing, but everybody deals with their fair share of injuries and I'll come out of it a better man, hopefully," he said.

As for the Galaxy, the scramble is now on to replace Albright in the back line. Last week, the team signed Abel Xavier from the English Premier League in hopes of playing him in a more central defender position. Now, Xavier will only be filling Albright's position, leaving rookie Ty Harden and aging Tyrone Marshall in the center. Could another move be in the works?

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