Following Saturday's 1-1 draw at home to Columbus Crew, Orlando City head coach Óscar Pareja expressed his frustration at the abnormal number of injuries his midfielders have suffered this season.
"[2025 has been] the most challenging out of my years here," he said.
You can certainly understand the Colombian's frustration. Joran Gerbet's forced withdrawal just six minutes in against the Crew will probably bring a premature end to his rookie season, but this one incident hardly scratches the surface.
The 24-year-old's latest injury is his third of 2025, having already missed ten Major League Soccer games through separate calf and hamstring problems. First-choice pairing César Araújo and Eduard Atuesta have each missed six league games this campaign through various injuries, while Wilder Cartagena was placed on the season-ending injury list after rupturing his left Achilles at the beginning of the year.
As a result, consistency has come at a premium.
With Pareja naming no less than seven unique starting midfield pairings across all competitions, 2025 has been a far cry Orlando's last two, Supporters' Shield-contesting campaigns, when the double pivot of Araújo and Cartagena was as reliable as it was crucial.
Currently languishing in seventh place in the Eastern Conference, there's a real chance Orlando may have to contest a Wild Card Match just to make the play-ffs. But, as devastating as these injuries have been, both Pareja and the club's front office must take some of the blame for their midfield woes.
Araújo is a liability
Injuries are not Araújo's biggest demon. Discipline is.
Not only did his needless red card trigger Orlando's late collapse against Atlanta United back in May, the resultant suspension gave Pareja no choice but to rethink his midfield once again for the visit of Chicago Fire three days later. Orlando lost that game 3-1.
Yellow card accumulation also saw the Uruguayan international miss August's meeting with Sporting Kansas City, but his teammates were there to bail him out on that occasion.
Araújo is a fine midfielder, and has been crucial to Orlando's upturn in fortunes over recent years. But his lack of discipline both on and off the ball has cost his side on too many occasions, and Orlando's front office probably should've cashed in when Uruguayan giants Nacional tabled an offer over the winter.
Instead, they gambled on 2025 being a success, and look set to lose him for free over the off-season.
Guske has been there all along
Pareja isn't exactly known for making the most of talented, homegrown players, but surely Colin Guske should've featured far more than he has this season?
The 18-year-old Florida native has been one of the standout midfielders in MLS Next Pro over the last two years, but he has only been awarded 55 minutes for the senior team this season. 2025 was widely anticipated to be his breakout year, but it just hasn't materialised - even with Orlando's midfield injury crisis.
At the very least, Guske should've been higher in the pecking order than Kyle Smith and Dagur Dan Thórhallsson - neither natural central midfielders - who have been the first to deputise when Atuesta, Araújo, or Gerbet haven't been fit.
But Orlando's academy rate him higher than that. His performances for Orlando City B hint that Guske has the potential to emerge as one of Major League Soccer's brightest young midfielders, just like Alex Freeman has at right-back this season.
Yes, the future is still bright. After all, it took Freeman three years to fully break into the first team after initially making his debut in Orlando's victorious Lamar Hunt U.S. Open Cup campaign in 2022.
But Orlando could've done with Guske this year.