Two players met just in front of the Milwaukee goal with one minute remaining in the first quarter, and one remained face down on the turf for five minutes Saturday night at 1st Mariner Arena.
That player was Blast midfielder/assistant coach David Bascome, who injured his left knee, and was helped off the field and directly into the Blast locker room.
“I can tell you it?s his knee and it?s serious,” said Blast coach Danny Kelly, who wasn?t at liberty to disclose the injury. “He may be out for an extended period of time.”
After the 16-14 win, Bascome was quiet in the Blast locker room, and suggested that the injury may be a torn ACL ? a likely end to his season. Bascome missed some time in March 2002 with a knee injury while playing for Harrisburg.
A handful of Blast players were nicked-up in the Wave series ? which was comprised of a Friday night road game, and a Saturday night game in Baltimore. The back-to-back, home-and-home series could be to blame.
“When you?re playing back-to-back nights, it definitely takes a toll on your body,” defender Mike Lookingland said.
With that in mind, the Blast will take today off and get back to practice Tuesday.
“The guys are banged up, but they?re not feeling as bad as they would if we had lost this game,” Kelly said.
Team captain P.J. Wakefield was injured Friday night, and missed Saturday?s game with a foot injury. His return is undecided, though Kelly speculated that the defender might miss a week or two. Veteran Lee Tschantret filled in as captain in Wakefield?s absence.
In addition, Denison Cabral (groin) and Cristian Neagu (abdominal strain) were deemed out prior to the weekend. Cabral was in uniform Saturday night, but did not play.
“I only wanted to use him in an emergency, if I had to,” Kelly said.
Machel Millwood went down on two occasions, but did not miss any time, while Guiliano Celenza hobbled off the field momentarily in the second half after taking a shot. He returned as well.
