James Sands expected to be out “3-4 weeks” with broken arm

New York City FC fans are likely still buzzing after the team’s dominant 5-2 win over FC Cincinnati on Thursday. Unfortunately, that optimism will have to be tempered with some bad news.

Star youngster James Sands was forced to leave the game in the second half after sustaining an arm injury. In the post-match press conference, manager Domé Torrent — when asked about his roster going into the U.S. Open Cup — said that Sands sustained a broken arm and will be out for “3-4 weeks”, making him unavailable for selection.

Domé issues this news at around the 3:13 mark of the video embedded below. For those of you who will have the video stripped from Apple News, here’s the link.

This news sucks considering how good the Sandman has been thus far this season. However, if there is such thing as a “optimal” time to be injured, this is it.

Judging by Torrent’s comments, NYCFC will most likely be fielding a more subdued team in the USOC matchup on June 12 against North Carolina FC consisting of players that don’t normally get the nod such as Daniel Bedoya, Juan Pablo Torres, and Justin Haak. After that, there will be a 17-day break before City’s next league game which will take place on June 29 against the Philadelphia Union.

Should Torrent’s predicted timetable be correct and Sands’ recovery go according to plan, it’s possible he won’t miss any more than 1-2 games. So keep your fingers crossed.