There’s more than one reason to be excited for Copa América.
Of course, there’s the tournament itself. One of the biggest events in world football is coming to the City Beautiful – three times, in fact. Orlando will host Costa Rica vs. Paraguay on June 4, Panama vs. Bolivia on June 6 and Brazil vs. Haiti on June 8.
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But for those Lions not competing in Copa, the tournament brings a much-needed rest.
Defender Seb Hines will get the chance to rest his knee that’s been giving him problems of late. Forward Cyle Larin, who turned heads around the league last year with his record-setting rookie campaign, will recharge after dealing with a particularly physical opening third of the season. Perhaps most importantly, the 20-day break between league fixtures will eat up three weeks of Darwin Cerén’s high ankle sprain recovery time.
As if those key injuries weren’t enough, the Lions just got done playing three pressure packed games in eight days. Against a trio of Eastern Conference opponents sitting pretty in the standings, City harvested five points from a stretch they said would define the season.
“This break has come at an absolutely perfect time for us,” Heath said after Sunday’s match.
The players earned a few days off following their strong showings last week and will get back at it next week to prepare for their first match of the 2016 Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup on June 15.
And then, three days after that match – against either the Charleston Battery or the Jacksonville Armada – the Lions return to MLS play to host the San Jose Earthquakes on June 18.
