Galaxy down another player for Leagues Cup match with Vancouver

In a season complicated by injuries, the Galaxy will have to deal with another one.

Midfielder Gastón Brugman, who has worn the captain’s armband for the majority of the season, left Wednesday’s Leagues Cup game with an apparent left leg injury. On Friday, Galaxy coach Greg Vanney confirmed that Brugman had suffered a meniscus tear and will undergo surgery early next week.

“Another non-contact moment, which we unfortunately lose an important player,” Vanney said. “It’s a bit of how things are going. We feel for him. Hopefully when they get in there, the news will be not a complete tear.

Brugman’s injury is the third big blow for the Galaxy, following Javier “Chicharito” Herandez’s ACL injury and Martin Caceres’ knee injury. Both are finished for the season.

Brugman joined the Galaxy last summer and immediately settled into an important role in the midfield.

Uri Rosell came on as a substitute replacing Brugman in Wednesday’s loss to Club Leon. Mark Delgado, who missed Wednesday’s game with a high ankle sprain, is still considered questionable.

“He was involved in most of training today (Friday),” Vanney said of Delgado. “He had a moment here or there where you could tell he was testing things out, he’s certainly progressing in the right direction.”

Midfield options are limited as the Galaxy heads into Sunday’s Leagues Cup game against Vancouver (6 p.m., Apple TV+) with likely only Riqui Puig in his normal starting role. The winner of the game advances to next week’s Round of 32.

“In the short term, internally we have step up,” Vanney said. “I thought Uri (Rosell) came on and had a solid performance. He’s a guy who has a lot of experience in our league and he certainly knows how to play the defensive midfield position. He had some little injury issues early in the season and he didn’t see a ton of time, but I thought he showed some experience when he came on. He’s an option.

“It’s one of these scenarios where for sure in the short term it’s just the next guy has to step in and fulfill the responsibilities of the position, but in the way that that player plays the position. He doesn’t need to be Gastón, he doesn’t need to do anything other than just be himself and trust the system and trust what we’re doing and be themselves.”

One thing Vanney doesn’t want to see is Puig having to change his role.

“I think he’s done a nice job of finding a balance over this stretch of games of when to come down and pick up the ball, when to try to start an attack, when to stay high and pick up the ball finish an attack,” Vanney said. “I think he’s found a nice rhythm inside of that. One of the things I will look for him is to help to continue to evolve as a leader inside of the group. He’s a young guy, but everybody looks to him as a key guy on our team. And now with Javy down, with Martin down, with Gastón down, it’s also going to be about picking up some of the leadership presence inside of the group and I’ve seen that at times over the last few games where Riqui is trying to bring the group along.

“That would be the piece, I would love for him to find another level inside of that just to try to support and bring the group forward from a leadership, emotional perspective.”