Orlando City SC today announced its star midfielder Kaká returned to the Club late yesterday having sustained a minor leg muscle injury during his stint with the Brazilian National Team. He will be evaluated by club physicians from Orlando Health and his status is currently listed as day-to-day.
“We are incredibly disappointed with this recent development for Kaká and for our fans,” said Orlando City General Manager Paul McDonough. “He has played 25 games for us so far this season, over 2,100 minutes, without any major issues or concerns. To the contrary, he undergoes one training session and match with the Brazilian National Team and he is injured.
“International call-ups have been a challenge for us as we are also evaluating an injured Darwin Cerén following his participation with El Salvador,” continued McDonough. “It’s the same thing we faced with Brek earlier in the year after he returned from play with the U.S. National Team. Unfortunately, we are obliged to release these players according to FIFA rules, and then are left to deal with the fallout after the fact. Again, I am very disappointed for our fans and for our injured players.”
Lions’ midfielder Cerén will be evaluated by team physicians upon his return later today. He was injured during El Salvador’s qualifying match on Friday, September 4, and remained with the team through their match against Curaçao last night but did not play.
More information on the status of both players will be provided in the coming days.
The Lions will return to the Orlando Citrus Bowl on Sunday, September 13, to host Western Conference foes Sporting Kansas City. Kick-off is scheduled for 7:00 p.m. ET.