Mexico's Lopez Returns With Strained Knee Ligament

Mexico and Pachuca defender Leobardo Lopez is out with a ligament strain; tests will determine how long he will be on the shelf.

Apr 2, 2009 6:22:26 PM

More On :  Mexico
Leobardo López- Pachuca (Mexsport)
Leobardo Lopez was part of Mexico's doomed defense in Honduras on Wednesday. The backline was unable to deal with Honduras' constant assault and pressure and ultimately Mexico lost 3-1.

While he started in central defense, however, Lopez was not around for the worst. He left the game midway through the first half with a knee injury.
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"Hopefully it's not serious," Lopez said upon arriving in Mexico City. "It looks like it's a ligament strain."

For now, Lopez is sidelined for club team Pachuca. Further tests will determine the severity of the injury and a timetable for his return.

Although Lopez left the match early, it was not until after he was beaten down the right flank on Honduras' first goal of the night. Carlos Costly played a ball with his hand and muscled past Lopez. He carried the ball inside the area and fired a left-footed shot past Guillermo Ochoa as Lopez tried in vain to stop him from scoring.

Shortly after, Lopez hurt his knee and left the match in the 27th minute with Honduras ahead 1-0.

"Those of us who are on the national team have the ability to play," Lopez said. "He decided to field the 11 players he thought were the best in all aspects of the game. He decided and I believe the team did well in training. However, during the game we lacked some concentration at times and that turned into goals against us."


Mexico played a decent first half but still were down 2-0 at the break. In the second half, Honduras went up by three until a late penalty kick gave Mexico their lone goal.

Lopez said that it's clear the team needs to improve; whether or not he'll be able to play a role in that remains to be seen.

"We need to drastically improve," Lopez said. "Every time you lose, you could feel shame. We're sad and we only think about working and trying to improve quickly so we can face the next games with confidence and try and gain points and qualify for the World Cup."

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