Herdman feels Kennedy’s pain as injured Canadian defender misses out on World Cup
Global News
Canada Soccer confirmed Wednesday that a shoulder injury, suffered in Germany with his SSV Jahn Regensburg club side, will sideline Kennedy until the new year.
While out-of-season MLS players like Jonathan Osorio head to a camp in Bahrain to press for a place with Canada in Qatar, the World Cup dream is over for defender Scott Kennedy.
Canada Soccer confirmed Wednesday that a shoulder injury, suffered in Germany with his SSV Jahn Regensburg club side, will sideline Kennedy until the new year.
“There’s no way back for Scott, unfortunately,” Canada coach John Herdman said. “He was devastated this morning.”
“For anyone that knows Scott, he’s just a good man, a good human being,” he added. “In the (team) environment, he has great character. Always seems to contribute in a quiet way and very very reliable on the field. So he will be a big loss to this group, on and off the field.
“Just one of those tough moments as a coach where you’ve got to share that grim reality with someone. (It’s) never easy.”
Herdman said Canada Soccer “specialists in the mental and emotional side” were checking in with Kennedy.
While the 25-year-old from Calgary has won just eight caps for Canada, he has proved to be an important member of the squad — at six-foot-three, another imposing defender able to slot in for the six-foot-four Steven Vitoria as needed.
And as Herdman suggested, he was a good fit in the Canadian team.