Tim Howard’s injury makes a title bid that much more difficult

The final game is so close the Colorado Rapids can practically taste the MLS Cup. Ranked second in the Western Conference and with only the Conference Championship against Seattle left, Colorado should be feeling confident in the last several weeks of the season, but that may no longer be the case.

“You wanna be in the semifinals with Tim Howard and Gashi,” Marcelo Balboa said on From The Pitch on Mile High Sports Radio this weekend. “The way he went down, that’s easily, easily, two weeks to six to seven weeks, because that’s his kicking leg; that’s the kicking motion. So if it’s a pull, you’re looking at 10 days minimum for it to heal up, and then you got to strengthen it up and that’s two weeks already.”

The goalkeeper went down during a World Cup qualifier game against Mexico, injuring his right adductor. Howard returned home to Colorado to further evaluate his injury, though the recovery time is not looking favorable for the Rapids.

“It will be interesting to see if they can create anything, or if they’ll go to Seattle now and just pack it in,” Balboa said.

“My biggest concern is Tim Howard,” Balboa continued. “[Zac] MacMath, when he played at the beginning of the year, was fantastic … you got to hope MacMath finds his sharpness.”

MacMath hasn’t started in a game since early September, and he hasn’t started in consecutive games since June. With over two months on the bench, fans have reason to be a little concerned when it comes to MacMath.

“When you go to take a penalty kick, you look at the goal a lot different with Tim Howard in goal,” Balboa said. “If we have to go to penalty kicks against Seattle, it’s different going against MacMath — and this is no disrespect — than it is going against Tim Howard.”

Catch the rest of what Balboa has to say, including what he thinks will be the key to the Rapids winning, below…

https://soundcloud.com/milehighsports/11-13-16-tim-howard-injury-evaluation-marcelo-balboa-from-the-pitch

Catch From The Pitch every Sunday from 4p-6p on Mile High Sports AM 1340 | FM 104.7 or stream live any time for the best local coverage of Colorado sports from Denver’s biggest sports talk lineup.