New York City FC coach Pascal Jansen provided some clarity about Designated Player attacker Talles Magno, confirming to members of the media that the 23-year-old Brazilian suffered an injury that will keep him out of training for another one to two weeks.
Hudson River Blue had wondered in these pages about the status of Talles after he'd seemingly disappeared from footage of the team's training sessions held at the Coachella Valley Invitational, a mystery that deepened when Talles didn't play in either Coachella friendly against LAFC and Sporting Kansas City.
When discussing the forward, Pascal Jansen said that Talles "needs a little more time before he can join the group sessions again" while never specifying what exact injury has sidelined the attacker.
Jansen said of Talles Magno's injury, "This is a minor setback, so we have to be mindful of that, and hopefully he can join the group sessions again somewhere late next week or the week after that."
It would seem unlikely, based on Jansen's timeline, that Talles Magno will be ready to play a part in New York City's MLS regular-season opener away to LA Galaxy on Sunday, February 22 at 7:00 pm ET. Jansen stressed that "we also have to realize he's [Talles Magno] coming from far away, not only Brazil as in far away, but also health-wise and training-wise. We have to take our time in order to make him more robust and get him ready to compete again."
Jansen had spoken of being impressed by Talles and his integration back into the NYCFC squad earlier in preseason, and also recently revealed to NYCFC radio announcer Glenn Crooks that Talles told Jansen he prefers to play as a center-forward, a role which Jansen had the Brazilian fill in the preseason friendly against Austin FC – what appears to be Talles Magno's only competitive action this preseason before being slowed by this injury.
Mark Radigan
Other Squad Updates: O'Neill, Shore, Trewin
While Talles Magno won't return to team training f0r another week or two, there were more positive updates shared by Jansen on both his Australians, plus another preseason-long injury absentee in his midfield.
Aiden O'Neill didn't feature in any of the club's first four preseason friendlies, but Pascal Jansen confirmed he should make his preseason debut against San Jose Earthquakes in the Coachella and preseason finale. "Aiden has been training all-in since the last two days, so it looks good for Aiden to join us in the game against San Jose to get some minutes under his belt," said the New York City FC coach.
We might see O'Neill sharing the field with his Australia national team teammates Kai Trewin, who arrived in preseason camp this week and made his on-field debut in the 2-1 loss to Sporting KC, playing the final 30 minutes of that match.
Jansen said Trewin is expected to be in the Starting XI against San Jose "to see how that works out with a few other players on the pitch," hinting at a possible desire to see Trewin play alongside other defensive or midfield starters like Thiago Martins, Raul Gustavo, Keaton Parks, or even his compatriot O'Neill, all players who were on the sidelines for the entirety of the midweek match against Kansas City.
Another midfielder who has been missing from action this NYCFC preseason: 18-year-old Homegrown Jonny Shore, who, like O'Neill, hasn't played at all this preseason. Jansen said Shore is "...still modified for a few things that he can't do. He hasn't been cleared yet, but it looks good, once we have our mini-break in Los Angeles after the game against San Jose, he'll be on pitch again without any modifications."
Jansen nor NYCFC have specified what exact injuries any of Talles Magno, O'Neill, or Shore suffered this preseason. They officially join long-term injury absentees Alonso Martínez, Andrés Perea, and Malachi Jones as players to watch before NYCFC releases their first official injury report of the 2026 season 24 hours or so before their game in Carson, California against the Galaxy.
Hudson River Blue Staff
New striker signing not imminent
Pascal Jansen also ruled out the possibility of a new signing at striker being made and ready to take the field to fill in for Alonso Martínez when the season begins next Sunday night.
"The search for the right No 9, or the right profile, the right player, the right person, continues," said Jansen. "We've tried. Obviously, a few things didn't work out the way we hoped it would be, but the search continues, because we all know that Alonso will take a little more time to get ready again in order to play for us again."
The "few things" that didn't work out, as Jansen put it, would be the signing of FC Schalke 04 striker Moussa Sylla, a transfer that was said to be a "done deal" but instead went down in flames and fell apart spectacularly and dramatically. Without a player like Sylla, a double-digit scorer in back-to-back seasons in second-division leagues in Germany and France, New York City will have to pivot to internal options, at least for now.
One of those internal options: Nico Fernández Mercau, who filled in for Martínez late last season, but who Jansen admits is not a like-for-like replacement for the prolific Costa Rican.
"Nico is not a deep No 9, he has other qualities, a different profile," said Jansen, referring to Fernández Mercau as being a "nine-and-a-half" while praising the Argentine Designated Player.
"He likes to come down and play between the lines, but also has his runs off the ball, as he's very intelligent. The matchup with Maxi [Moralez] in the middle gives us a different dynamic in the central part of the pitch," Jansen said of how his attack functions with Nico at the "false-9" and Moralez in his usual central attacking midfielder role.
Jansen also mentioned Seymour Reid when talking of Nico's work as a "9.5," saying that the 17-year-old Jamaica striker "is still making his progress in order to become that stable No 9 for us in the future," so we might not see Jansen simply hand the striker reins over to Reid and hope he develops on the fly while Martínez rehabs.
An external striker signing also still seems likely post-Sylla transfer fail, with Jansen saying, "We have our options, but we're still looking for that right No 9 to come and support this team."
