Josef Martínez included in Atlanta United’s roster for the Concachampions
The Five Stripes traveled to Costa Rica to face Alajuelense on Tuesday for the first leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League.
Josef Martínez required multiple procedures to repair the torn ligament knee injury he suffered in the opening game of the 2020 Major League Soccer season against Nashville on 29 February. His road to recovery was long and he even had a talk with Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who suffered a similar injury with Manchester United.
Martínez played for the first time in over a year on 14 March when Atlanta United defeated Tormenta FC 3-0 in a preseason match. His second game back was against South Georgia and the Five Stripes won 3-0 and after playing some minutes new manager Gabriel Heinze decided to include him in the roster that traveled to Costa Rica.
Atlanta United will now play against Alajuelense for the first leg of the round of 16 of the CONCACAF Champions League. It is expected that Heinze gives Martínez some minutes, but most likely Erik López, Erick Torres or Lisandro López will start the game against the Costa Rican side.
How have Atlanta United done in the tournament?
The Five Stripes team has participated in the last two editions of the CONCACAF Champions League and they lost twice in the round of 16. So their objective for this year's tournament is to make it to the next round and from there take it game by game.