Nashville’s injury report had a couple new names on it this morning: defenders Dan Lovitz and Jack Maher are unavailable for the team’s Wednesday trip to Columbus due to Major League Soccer’s health and safety protocols during the coronavirus pandemic. Depending on when they entered those protocols, it’s all-but assured that both will also miss Saturday’s game against FC Cincinnati, as well.
Lovitz has played all but 12 minutes for Nashville this season, and has spent all year near the top of the expected assists and key pass charts. He’s also been a cornerstone of Nashville’s outstanding run-of-play defense.
Maher returned to Nashville from a loan to San Diego Loyal when it became clear that Walker Zimmerman’s availability would be limited after the birth of his son and then his trip to Kansas City to participate in the Gold Cup with the US Men’s National Team. The second-year player has notched 478 minutes for the Boys in Gold this season.
Nashville was one of the hardest-hit teams by the Covid pandemic last year, and was one of two teams forced to withdraw from the MLS is Back Tournament. The Boys in Gold also had various personnel absences over the remaining course of the season due to positive tests or contact-tracing protocols. Wednesday evening, they’ll be without two key players once again.
The rest of Nashville’s availability report is as expected: Dominique Badji and Aníbal Godoy are out with ankle and hamstring injuries, respectively, while Alistair Johnston and Walker Zimmerman will participate in the knockout stages with the Canadian and American Gold Cup teams.
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