HOUSTON — The Houston Dynamo's hard-fought road point at D.C. United this past Saturday didn't come without a price. MLS assist leader and Dynamo talisman Brad Davis left at halftime due to a left groin strain he suffered last week.
“In training Friday I felt it in the shooting drill and I shut it down as soon as I felt it,” Davis said Monday. “I went out and went through a fitness test before the game and it hadn’t gotten any worse.”
However, when Houston came out for the second half they were without their most productive player.
After passing the pregame test, a defensive play on speedy D.C. winger Andy Najar aggravated the injury. Davis was on his way to another good performance, having provided a few chances and scoring his second goal of the season on a penalty kick, but chose not to go on.
“I had to make the decision at halftime because I didn’t want to hinder the team,” he said.
Colin Clark carried on in Davis’ place for the second 45 minutes, doing his best Davis impression in testing D.C. ‘keeper Bill Hamid and generating service from the left flank. It was Clark who served up the left-footed cross for Brian Ching to score the equalizer in the closing minutes of the game.
“It’s comforting to know that if you take off Brad you have Colin available,” said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear. “He went in and played well so I don’t think we lost anything with the sub.”
It’s too early to know when Davis will return, but the team's plan is to rest him and put him on a rehab plan with an eye toward getting back on the field this Sunday in Colorado.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
