Union goalkeeper Andre Blake diagnosed with grade one adductor strain

Fear not, Union fans. Andre Blake will be back soon enough.

As reported by Jonathan Tannenwald of the Philadelphia Inquirer and confirmed by Jim Curtin in his midweek press conference on Thursday, March 16, Blake has been diagnosed with a grade one adductor strain after his injury against Chicago Fire F.C. just under a week prior.

Grade one strains often take between one and two weeks to recover from. While Curtin did not give an expected return date for Blake, he did note that he would miss the Union’s match at Montreal.

“He’s working really, really hard to get back as soon as possible,” Curtin said.

Curtin also took the time to credit Blake for his play in the Chicago match after he acquired his injury. Blake made one last save to deny former Union forward Kacper Przybylko from a goal, after going down with his initial knock.

“I do think now that, if you rewind to the Chicago game, the guts he showed getting back to goal even with the injury, it’s amazing,” he said. “It speaks to the character that he has, that he’ll do anything to help save the team, and still made a huge save.”

Assuming he isn’t called up by the Jamaican Men’s National Team, Blake could see action against Orlando City S.C., on Saturday, March 25. That date would come at the end of the two-week recovery period, though it’s possible that Curtin would want to rest his star goalkeeper a little longer to reduce the risk of another injury.