Juninho injury bad news for L.A. Galaxy, but damage somewhat limited

A month or so back, an injury to L.A.’s perennially underrated Brazilian midfielder Juninho might have looked crippling.

While it still needs tagging under “bad news” for the Galaxy, the Achilles strain that recurred last night suddenly doesn’t look so devastating.

First, there’s still apparently hope that Juninho can take up his usual spot alongside David Beckham in the middle of L.A.’s 4-4-2 like always. A full week between matches makes it so, according to team officials – although who knows what the real prognosis is, given the Galaxy’s tendency to play fast and loose with the league’s policies on reporting injuries.

Second, the Galaxy has Marcelo Sarvas in reserve. He’s experienced, and has proven to be an adequate fill-in for Juninho this year.

Finally, the Galaxy look unstoppable, and will continue to look that way if the parts around Juninho continue to stroke along at such a high cadence. Juninho has been fine, but the way Landon Donovan and Robbie Keane have performed over the last 180 minutes of playoff soccer, supported through good performance by a few others, his talent becomes something close to superfluous.

(MORE: Galaxy stars are getting the job done, and then some)