New York City FC have a Talles Magno problem and it is something that has grown throughout the season due to his lack of playing time and uncertainty around his health. The 22 year-old Brazilian forward has had a difficult recovery following a pre-season knee injury that appears to be creating frustration with the player and the club. In total Magno has seen six minutes of game time in just one appearance.
“There are no secrets,” said Nick Cushing when pushed on where the enigmatic forward could find minutes. “It’s incredibly competitive to get into the team and Talles was really unfortunate to get the injury in preseason. Then we had to execute the recovery and the rehab and then he had to get back into full training. He hasn’t played too much football this year. So he’s going through the process of getting back into the rhythm.”
Just how long it takes to get into the rhythm is an interesting topic. We’ve seen Maxi Moralez step back into the club after a much more serious injury and almost immediately have an impact. Magno, a player who was supposed to have a much larger role with the club, has seen himself fighting for minutes against a crew that has struggled in front of goal.
While Cushing still relies heavily on Monsef Bakrar despite the statistics, Alonso Martinez and Magno have seen less in the way of starting minutes. A rotating cast for Cushing has assisted in times of fixture congestion. However the main starting forward position has gone to Cushing’s beleaguered Algerian striker. Even the left wing position, which Magno also occupied in years past, appears to be filled by Agustin Ojeda while the right wing has been solidified by Hannes Wolf.
What this leaves is a very talented Brazilian forward with no place in the team at the moment and few options to get into it unless there is a drastic change in philosophy. That change may come should the current losing streak continue. After rattling off five consecutive wins, NYC have dropped three in a row and could be in danger of dropping their fourth should they lose to Orlando City on Friday night. Should that happen, there may be little choice but to go with Magno, who has yet to show if he can make the difference on the pitch.
“It’s competitive,” said Cushing. “When we’re picking a bench and a team there’s many, many, decisions that go into who is in, who is on the bench and who is out.”
photo from NYCFC