When New York City FC resume their Concacaf Champions League campaign in the quarterfinals against Liga MX side Tigres UANL on Tuesday, they'll do so without starting goalkeeper Sean Johnson.
The Cityzens reported three positive COVID-19 results ahead of Tuesday's match, which caused them to adjust their travel plans before heading to Orlando, where the match is being played at a neutral site, and thinned their depth as they continue the tournament. Johnson wasn't among the positive tests, but was deemed a close contact to one of the players who was, rendering him ineligible for the match.
That means backup Luis Barraza is set to get the nod, while NYCFC also announced on Monday that they've acquired Mason Stajduhar on loan from Orlando City SC for the remainder of the season to shore up their depth at the position. Speaking with reporters on a Monday video call, head coach Ronny Deila said that he's confident that Barraza is up to the task amid the challenging circumstances.
"Sean has been a close contact, so he's not available for the game tomorrow. But Luis is ready, so he's going to play," Deila said.
"Luis has been fighting for now two years to be close to the team and I'm very happy now that he gets a chance. He's talented, young, he's been working really hard and now the time has come and we're looking forward to the game to see how Luis is going to do. I'm very confident he will have a good game."
Autore: Stefano Bentivogli
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