While awaiting arrival of Cucho Hernandez, Crew begin tight, three-game stretch

Crew coach Caleb Porter gave his leadership group a heads-up before the signing of Cucho Hernandez as a designated player was formally announced on Tuesday.

Many players were already familiar with Hernandez, having watched him play this past season in the English Premier League for Watford. Everyone seemed to acknowledge he is a player who can help an offense that has been shut out six times and has scored just 18 goals in 17 games.

“I saw directly this is a guy we can need, really quality player,” goalkeeper Eloy Room said. “If you play a season in the Premier League, you play at a high level.”

But Hernandez has yet to arrive. When he does, he won’t be allowed to play until July 9 at the earliest — after the MLS transfer window opens July 7. Until then, the Crew have three games in nine days.

They'll have to play with an injury-plagued roster beginning on the road at 10 p.m. Saturday against Real Salt Lake (8-4-4, 28 pts.), which is unbeaten in seven home games with six wins.

"I think they're a hardworking team,” Porter said. “They like to press. Pretty vertical and direct at times, pretty good team spirit. They're a team that the whole is greater than the parts. The collective is a strength, and their organization, their work rate, their intensity. Pablo (Mastroeni’s) done a nice job with the team."

More: How Columbus Crew signed Cucho Hernandez and convinced him to leave Europe for MLS

Arace: With Cucho Hernandez coming aboard, Crew have no more excuses

The Crew have eight players listed on the injury report. The only one officially listed as out is Artur, who is dealing with a calf injury. Porter said star attacking midfielder Lucas Zelarayan is unlikely to play 30 minutes off the bench due to a thigh injury. Pedro Santos (thigh), Will Sands (knee), Erik Hurtado (foot), Marlon Hairston (thigh), Derrick Etienne Jr. (leg) and Yaw Yeboah (ankle) are listed as questionable.

The Crew were without five starters in a 1-1 draw against expansion club Charlotte FC last week. Porter said he might be without six or seven starters this week. However, the Crew are getting center back Jonathan Mensah back after he had to miss last week with a concussion.

Winger Kevin Molino is also no longer listed on the injury report. He made his return last week for the first time since tearing his ACL at the end of August last season. 

The Crew has a road game Wednesday against Toronto FC, followed by a home match against MLS Cup contender Philadelphia Union July 3.

"We're pretty much in the same situation we were in last game, possibly a couple guys coming back in but then a couple guys might be out now based on last game,” Porter said. "It's definitely a difficult stretch with the injuries we have. But I think, again, when you look at last game, even though we were disappointed with a draw, we're continuing to get results and that's two results in a row with a lot of key guys out."

The Crew were gifted a goal against Charlotte last week and generally struggled to create good scoring chances without Zelarayan or Santos. The most disappointing part of the game for Porter was giving up a goal off a shot that initially came from a tight angle, then not responding well.

Room made the save on the initial shot but pushed it onto the path of the Charlotte attacking player to tie the game. After saving the Crew’s win with a miraculous performance in the game prior against Atlanta, Room’s looking for the Crew to do what they did that game.

"For us, it's keep it simple and try to score the first goal,” Room said. “I think that helped us at Atlanta.”

Columbus Crew    

Record: 4-5-5, 17 pts., 11th in East   

Projected Starting XI (3-5-2):    

Eloy Room (goalkeeper), Josh Williams (center back), Jonathan Mensah (center back), Miloš Degenek (center back), Steven Moreira (right wingback), Darlington Nagbe (midfielder), James Igbekeme (midfielder), Aidan Morris (midfielder), James Igbekeme (left winger), Derrick Etienne Jr. (right wingback), Miguel Berry (forward), Erik Hurtado (forward).   

What to watch: The lineup is as much of a guess as last week’s and maybe even more so. Etienne (leg) and Hurtado (foot) are listed as questionable with injuries after starting the last game. With Pedro Santos (thigh) and Will Sands (knee) still questionable, the Crew might be without any left backs again and have to resort to a three-back system. It’s possible Kevin Molino, Alex Matan and Luis Diaz get some extended minutes, as well. 

Real Salt Lake   

Record: 8-4-4, 28 pts., 2nd in West   

Projected Starting XI (4-4-2):    

Zac MacMath (goalkeeper), Tate Schmitt (left back), Marcelo Silva (center back), Justen Glad (center back), Andrew Brody (right back), Scott Caldwell (central midfielder), Jasper Löffelsend (central midfielder), Justin Meram (left winger), Jefferson Savarino (right winger), Rubio Rubin (forward), Sergio Cordova (forward).    

Player to watch: Jefferson Savarino, the 25-year-old Venezuelan acquired in May from Brazilian club Mineiro, scored his first goal with Salt Lake last week in a 2-0 win against San Jose. He was brought in to lift a Salt Lake attack that has scored just 20 goals in 16 games. 

Prediction  

Salt Lake 1, Columbus 0: Without Zelarayan and on the road against a team that has won six of seven home games, with the other being a tie, the Crew are in for an uphill battle in this one. 

jmyers@dispatch.com

@_jcmyers

Get more Columbus Crew news by listening to our podcasts

Crew at Salt Lake

This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew battling injuries entering three-game stretch, starting at Salt Lake