LA Galaxy head coach Dominic Kinnear announced on Thursday that midfielder Chris Pontius would miss the remainder of the season. Pontius, who picked up a groin injury either during or after the Galaxy 1-1 draw with Los Angeles Football Club on August 24, hasn’t been able to train or play with the club since.
Kinnear added that the groin injury might require surgery and therefore the midfielder would miss the final games of the season.
Pontius joined the Galaxy on January 22 of this year as a free agent after his contract with the Philadelphia Union had expired. He most famously spent seven seasons with DC United becoming a fan favorite while scoring 31 goals for the Black and Red.
The 31-year-old midfielder played in 26 games in 2018 for the Galaxy, adding five goals and six assists to his name in 1,485 minutes of play. He became a utility man under former Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid and was able to mix in nicely with any of the midfield players he was paired with.
He’ll probably best be remembered in 2018 for scoring the second goal of the Galaxy’s four-goal comeback against LAFC in Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s MLS debut.
In total, Pontius has 10 seasons of MLS soccer under his belt and has scored 50 regular season goals during that time across three teams.
Pontius is a native of Yorba Linda, California and would likely be a good candidate to remain on the team in 2019.
His injury, coupled with the injuries of Giovani dos Santos (Quad Strain), and Bradford Jamieson IV (Hip), leave the Galaxy without much depth in the attacking midfielder position.
The Galaxy will face off against Minnesota United on Sunday, October 21 needing a win to stay alive in their last-minute race for a playoff position.
