Columbus Crew SC‘s hopes of winning a second MLS Cup final suffered an immense blow on Thursday night when the team announced that midfielders Darlington Nagbe and Pedro Santos have been deemed “not medically cleared to play.”
The Crew are scheduled to play the Seattle Sounders FC in the MLS Cup final on Saturday at Columbus’ home venue of MAPFRE Stadium.
Columbus also added that another player has tested positive for COVID-19, bringing the total number of Crew players who have contracted the virus to 10 since the start of the MLS Cup playoffs. Because of privacy laws, the Crew aren’t able to disclose which players have been affected.
Earlier this week, the team revealed that seven players who have previously tested positive for COVID-19 had either already resumed training or would do so soon. But the loss of Nagbe in particular will be near impossible to replace.
The announcement comes on the same day that MLS Players Association executive director Bob Foose announced that “almost 20%” of the league’s players had tested positive for COVID-19 at some point during the season.
Nagbe, 30, is in his first year with Crew after having twice previously won MLS Cups with the Portland Timbers in 2015 and Atlanta United FC in 2018. He recorded one goal and one assist in 18 league and playoff appearances this season, but his ability to keep possession is seen as vital to keeping the Crew attack operating near its peak.
Santos, 32, is in his fourth season with Columbus, contributing eight goals and eight assists in 25 league and playoff appearances this season.