A Tear For Llorente Means A Break For Jozy

News out of Villarreal today is that Joseba Llorente has torn a muscle in his thigh.  The injury came in last weekends 2-2 draw with Malaga and now the striker is facing a month on the sideline.  While this may be bad news for Llorente and Villarreal, it could be nice for Altidore who suffers when the strikeforce is at full strength.

We can expect Rossi and Franco to continue starting up top, but it seems that Altidore will be the first striker off the bench in the next few games.  At least until Nihat returns to form which might be soon.

But before we think this is a great opportunity for Jozy, let’s remember that there’s another side to this coin.  If Jozy plays another game for Villarreal, he is unable to be loaned out in January.  I believe that is the rule.  So while Jozy may get to play in the short term (in Llorente’s absence), in the long term he may find himself trapped deep in the rotation once spring rolls around and every striker is healthy.

So we’ll see what happens this weekend, and if Jozy makes an appearance.  But before that, we can turn our attention to Wednesday and hope Jozy has a strong showing against Guatemala.

Thoughts?

–psc