Union striker Mikael Uhre is out 2-3 weeks with a groin injury

The Union are now down to three strikers, none of whom are proven, and have six games over the next 22 days.

Published June 28, 2024, 12:13 p.m. ET

The Union’s struggles went from very bad to even worse Friday when top striker Mikael Uhre was ruled out with a groin strain.

He will be sidelined two to three weeks, and groin injuries are a kind you really don’t want to rush a player back from. Andre Blake knows that as well as anyone, having suffered a few groin injuries over the years.

Uhre has seven goals and two assists in 22 games. He also has a fleet of critics among Union fans who believe the Union’s most expensive player should score a lot more than that. But he’d been in pretty good form this month, and we’ll now see if any of those critics regret it while he isn’t around.

There are two reasons to say that, as impolite as it is. First is that with Julián Carranza on his way to Dutch club Feyenoord, the Union are now down to three healthy strikers, and none of them is fully proven yet.

Tai Baribo is the closest, but he has played only 12 times for the Union since arriving here last year — and they were almost all late-game cameos until Carranza’s departure this month.

Chris Donovan is next in line, and his skill set is clearly limited. He’s tall and runs hard and fast, but usually just in straight lines, and doesn’t have much of a finishing touch — just four goals in 52 games.

Markus Anderson is the third option. He’s the most dynamic on the ball, but his game-losing giveaway last week at FC Cincinnati was a reason to send him down the depth chart. And he won’t play Saturday at CF Montréal (7:30 p.m., Apple TV) because of yet another minor injury.

Quinn Sullivan is a candidate to start at forward, and maybe more likely than Donovan since Baribo can bring some size. But Sullivan is better off as a midfielder.

Dániel Gazdag could also take a turn in a forward role now that he has returned from playing for Hungary at the European Championship. Whatever he does Saturday will be as a substitute, though, because his flight back Thursday was delayed and he didn’t arrive until late at night. That limited his practice Friday.

Curtin could also tweak his tactics and go with a one-striker setup, though his team usually plays with two up front.

If Uhre is out the full three weeks, all those players might get a turn up front. The Union have six games from now through July 20, when the regular season pauses for the MLS-vs.-Mexico Leagues Cup.

After Saturday, the Union play Wednesday at Chicago, July 6 vs. the New York Red Bulls, July 13 at Toronto, July 17 vs. New England, and July 20 vs. Nashville.