Avant match Orlando City c. CF Montréal
MONTREAL – Romell Quioto joined his teammates in training on Friday, a sign that suggests he may be available to return to CF Montreal’s roster for their playoff game once morest Orlando City SC on Sunday.
Montreal’s top scorer in the regular season, Quioto was injured during his most recent stint with the Honduras national team at the end of September. He missed the last two games of the schedule once morest DC United and Inter Miami.
Tuesday, he had made his appearance on the sly in the second part of the training session, while the starters of the match once morest Miami had already retired to the locker room. He was then content to work alone with physiotherapist Alessandro Marconato.
Three days later, he was taking his regular turn in the collective exercises led by Wilfried Nancy. The latter will spend the next few hours weighing the pros and cons before deciding on the use he will make of the man who has been named his team’s MVP this week.
“It’s not an easy decision,” admitted Nancy. Today he trained, it seems to be going well. We’ll wait a little longer tomorrow to see how he feels. Afterwards, it will be a joint decision. There are two possibilities. Are we taking a small risk – or a big risk, but I’ll take it – with Romell so he can help us in the game once morest Orlando? Or do we finally feel that it’s a little too fair and that we will finally try to win for him? »
Quioto only missed four games in the regular season. Without him, CF Montreal won three times and scored nine goals.
On six other occasions, the Honduran stallion started a match on the bench. His team’s record under these circumstances was four wins and two losses with ten goals scored, including one by Quioto himself in a substitute role.
Others took over in the absence of the veteran. Six of Kei Kamara’s nine goals have come in games in which Quioto did not start. Djordje Mihailovic (3), Lassi Lappalainen (2) and Mason Toye (2) also put their shoulder to the wheel to make up for the absence of the ace scorer.
With his 15 goals and six assists, Quioto has been directly involved in just 24% of his team’s goals this season. By way of comparison, the Golden Boot of the 2022 season, Hany Mukhtar, has assisted in 65% of Nashville SC’s goals. In Dallas, Jesus Ferreira had a say in half of his own goals. Philadelphia’s Daniel Gazdag and Austin’s Sebastian Driussi hit 48% and 45% respectively of the balls their team shoved into opposing goals.
In short, CF Montreal is not as dependent on Quioto as it has been on some other players in the past and on paper, his potential absence does not seem dramatic. But Wilfried Nancy nuance.
“It’s true that when a player can’t be available, I usually don’t spend too much time on it and focus on the other possibilities. But this is a game that is still special and Romell, his injury is a bit strange in the sense that it is not something very serious, even if we have to be careful. But Romell wants to play and I know he is important for the energy of the team. We will see. »
“But like I told Romell, I won’t take him if he can’t help us. »
