Orlando’s Brek Shea Could Be Sidelined Three to Four Weeks by Groin Injury

As Orlando City manager Adrian Heath revealed last week, Lions midfielder Brek Shea had been dealing with a groin injury since returning to the team following international duty with the U.S. Men’s National Team in early June.

Shea battled through the injury to play in OCSC’s next two matches against D.C. United and Montreal Impact, but was unable to finish the first half last week against Colorado Rapids, being subbed off after just 39 minutes of sub-par playing time. On Sunday night, an Orlando Sentinel report indicated that the groin injury could keep the 25-year-old Shea on the sideline for up to a month.

The outlook wasn't as bright for Brek Shea, who Heath now says might need three or four weeks to return from a nagging groin strain that forced his removal after just 39 minutes against Colorado.

Shea had not looked like himself in the weeks since his return to club duty, and the decision to start the Texan against Colorado seemed curious even before his early exit, as Heath had hinted that a shut-down period was a possibility for Shea before the mid-week match on his call-in show.

Shea was left off the USMNT's 23-man CONCACAF Gold Cup Roster last week due to the groin injury, but Orlando City does not look to benefit from Shea's omission since the injury will keep him off the pitch for the same amount of time as the July tournament would have.

Shea has started 14 matches for the Lions this season – seven at fullback and seven more in the midfield, since his move forward following the season-ending knee injury to Kevin Molino.

The good news for Orlando is that Carlos Rivas looked excellent on Wednesday night in relief of Shea, and in combination with Lewis Neal, should be able to fill in nicely on the left wing in his absence.