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Union’s Marco Fabián rules himself out 1-2 weeks with sprained ankle; team gives no official timeline

The Union officially announced the diagnosis of a sprained left ankle for Marco Fabián. The Mexican playmaker expects to be out for 1-2 weeks.

Marco Fabián is likely to be out two weeks with a sprained ankle he suffered in the Philadelphia Union's loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy last Saturday.
Marco Fabián is likely to be out two weeks with a sprained ankle he suffered in the Philadelphia Union's loss to the Los Angeles Galaxy last Saturday.Read moreELIZABETH ROBERTSON / Staff Photographer

The Union announced Tuesday that Marco Fabián has a sprained left ankle, and, while the team didn’t specify a timeline on his recovery, the Mexican playmaker said he expects to be out for one to two weeks.

Fabián did not take part in Tuesday’s training session. He spent the morning doing rehab work at the team’s practice facility.

“It is the second day [of rehab] after my injury, and I worked a lot — just put [in] treatment, and I feel really better,” he said. “I think it’s now over, the worst, and I come back soon.”

Union manager Jim Curtin said in a statement on the team’s website that “right now, we don’t have a time frame on his return, so we’ll continue to evaluate him this week,”

The fifth-place Union (3-3-1, 10 points) will host the third-place Montreal Impact (3-2-2, 11 points) on Saturday at Talen Energy Stadium, then visit the Vancouver Whitecaps on April 27. Given the long commute — MLS teams fly commercial airlines, not charters — and the artificial turf at Vancouver’s BC Place, Fabián likely won’t play in that game, and he knows it.

“I say one or two weeks — for me, I want to play on Saturday, but it depends when I feel in the next stage" of recovery, Fabián said. “Of course, Saturday I can’t play. [For] Vancouver, I need to see the pain I feel.”

All things considered, Fabián’s first game back will probably be May 1 at home against expansion team FC Cincinnati.

Fabián was hurt in the 17th minute of Saturday’s loss at the Los Angeles Galaxy. He received the ball at midfield, spotted L.A. goalkeeper David Bingham way off his line, and was preparing for a long-distance chip with his right foot, but took a bad step with his supporting left foot. Fabián tried unsuccessfully to play through the pain, then exited in the 23rd minute.

“I wanted to run, but I can’t," he said. “My left foot, I put [it] down, and I think my balance or something like this was wrong.”

Fabián has endured a tumultuous start with the Union. He has scored two goals, created seven chances and completed 85.6 percent of his pass attempts in five games, but he has also had two penalty kicks saved and has missed two games because of a red card and extra suspension.

“All the things happened,” he said in good humor. “I feel good, because it’s just the start, and I know there’s going to be really good things in the future. We have a long season. So I stay calm.”