LAFC Injury Analysis: Carlos Vela listed as questionable

Around the 60th minute of the second match against the Galaxy, Carlos Vela stormed off the field after being substituted due to a minor hamstring injury. As we have discussed in previous injury analyses, the severity of hamstring strains are graded from 1-3, based on the amount of tearing to the muscle fibers. Based on all available reports point to this being a grade I strain, this would indicate an overstretching without tearing of the muscle or tendon fibers.

While the player may feel a significant decrease of symptoms in as quickly as a few days, the injured muscle can take approximately 2-3 weeks to heal completely. Due to the presence of scar tissue during the healing process, the healing tissue is susceptible to re-injury until the tissue has fully matured.

Photo by Shaun Clark/Getty Images

There comes a point where the coaching/training staff have the responsibility to protect a player from themselves, especially when one considers the long-term implications this injury could have. Given LAFC’s current standings in the Supporters’ Shield race, I would expect the training staff to continue to rest Carlos Vela for another 1-2 weeks in an effort to ensure his availability throughout the rest of the season and playoffs. He is officially listed as questionable, but it seems quite likely he’ll miss Sunday’s game against Minnesota United.

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