Chicharito Out Of The Gold Cup

If El Tri are going to unseat the United States and win the Gold Cup they are going to have to do it without Chicharito. On Friday it was announced by the Mexican Football Association that Javier Hernandez, otherwise known as Chicharito, will miss the 2015 CONCACAF Gold Cup due to injury.

The injury occurred during Wednesday’s friendly between Mexico and Honduras. Due to the nature of the injury it is expected that Chicharito will miss the next 4-6 weeks. You can see the injury below:

Santos Laguna forward Jesus “Chuleta” Orozco will replace him on Mexico’s 23-man roster. Orozco has made 11 appearances for the Mexican National Team and has played with both Laguna and Cruz Azul during his professional career.

Mexico still has Carlos Vela (making his return to the Mexican National Team after missing out on last year’s World Cup,) Giovani Dos Santos,  and Oribe Peralta on their Gold Cup roster. While having Chicharito would certainly improve El Tri’s chances of winning the Gold Cup for the first time since 2011 they should have enough weapons to get through Group C (Cuba, Guatemala, and Trinidad and Tobago) the question will be how they hold up against squads like Costa Rica or the United States, teams that can match the pace of the Mexican attack and strike back.

While Chicharito injury certainly has implications for his international career, it is perhaps his club career that will take the greatest hit. After a relatively unsuccessful loan stint with Real Madrid (the UEFA Champions League goal in the semi-finals aside) Hernandez was expected to go back on loan or be sold from Manchester United. But due to the injury and rehabilitation he may end up being stuck with United for at least the fall. Depending on how the rehabilitation goes, teams may be reluctant to take on his salary if he is not at full fitness.

Mexico will begin Gold Cup play next Thursday against Cuba.

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