Obed Vargas sidelined for 'multiple weeks' with back injury

Seattle Sounders youngster Obed Vargas will be out for 'multiple weeks' after suffering a stress fracture in his lower back. 

The 16-year-old first felt discomfort a couple months back, but Seattle Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer confirmed the injury worsened during the match against LAFC on July 18. Vargas was set to meet up with the US Under-20 side for the Concacaf Under-20 Championship group stage, but has since been replaced by D.C. United homegrown midfielder Jackson Hopkins. 

“It’s not a great injury,” Schmetzer told reporters. “He’ll be out multiple weeks, seeing a back specialist every couple of weeks, but this is going to need time to heal.”

The news comes as a huge blow for the player, who was enjoying a breakout rookie season. He’s emerged as one of the most influential players for the Sounders, covering in the starting lineup for DP Joao Paulo as he recovers from a torn ACL. 

"[Vargas] will be out seeing a back specialist every couple of weeks, but this is going to need time to heal. So, it's really unfortunate because the kid was playing well for us and also had a chance to be with the Under-20s. So it's tough. But the fact of the matter is, we've got a deep team."

While his injury may test Seattle’s depth, Schmetzer is not too worried. Homegrown players Josh Atencio and Danny Leyva will likely come into play, with veteran Kelyn Rowe also able to cover the position with experience. 

"[Vargas] covered for JP, we've got Josh coming back, Danny, Kelyn can fit in there. So the team will be fine, but it's just a bummer for the kid because the kid was looking pretty good. ... We'll figure something out. We've got three games next week, so chances are all three of those players are going to play,” Schmetzer said.

" ...Again, we've got three games this week. We'll see how those go, we'll certainly make changes as necessary. But for the long term, we've been thinking about as a coaching staff: What is the best version of this team? Because JP's injury was significant. So we've got to figure out a way, how we solve that whole thing. Now we've got another injury, so we're working on it."

The Sounders failed to successfully kick off their 2022 Major League Soccer campaign, struggling to balance the Concacaf Champions League with regular-season games. But since lifting the CCL trophy, the Sounders have been slowly climbing the Western Conference table. 

The team currently sits in seventh with 23 points in 15 games, and a record of 7W-6L-2D. They concluded MLS Week 16 with a 3-0 victory over Sporting Kansas City, and return to action on Wednesday vs. CF Montreal.