Injuries slowing down the Montreal Impact's Path to its Full Potential

Eastern conference leaders, Amway Canadian Championship finalists, basically all is well at Stade Saputo. The seed of victory seemed to have taken root among players, staff and fans alike. Unfortunately, the injury bug is hitting the club even though it continues to win.

Latest Injury Report

• Nelson Rivas (L knee surgery)
• Matteo Ferrari (L calf strain) -- His recovery is complete as he played 90 minutes against the San Jose Earthquakes
• Daniele Paponi ( hamstring)
• Alessandro Nesta ( abductor)
• Davy Arnaud ( concussion?) -- He was ruled out for the game vs San Jose and did not travel with the club to the West Coast.
• Andrea Pisanu (R quad strain) -- When is he not injured?

It was a known fact that some players with the Montreal Impact were either injury-prone, old or both. The demographical age map of the Impact goes from the very old to very young with not that many ''younger , middle-aged'' players with that much experience. Though no team is injury-free and the Montreal Impact will not use it as an excuse.

The 2012 dream of having all 3 Impact center backs (Nesta-Rivas-Ferrari) playing together was short lived. Injuries hit all 3 defenders at different times. This year is no different as Ferrari and Nesta have only played together for 2 games and 20 minutes. Rivas is still recovering from surgery done in 2012 and cannot be counted on as a reliable player due to his constant injuries.

The positive side of these injuries is that more playing time is given to younger players : Karl W. Ouimette and Wandrille Lefevre. But it would be hard to imagine both Academy graduates to be key players towards getting a playoff berth. This is where the versatility and strength of Hassoun Camara and Jeb Brovsky greatly helps the coaching staff.

The midfield has not been the most injury-free sector for the club but not far. The midfield still showed some chemistry on the field, led by Patrice Bernier and Davy Arnaud. It has not been always a perfect free flowing game but the midfielders have been key in recovering balls quickly and unleashing counter attacks even faster. Though, the recurring injuries of Andrea Pisanu will start to become a running gag but we were warned of his fragile legs.

The attacking sector has also been almost injury-free early in the season. But the most recent signing, Daniele Paponi, did not play 2 full games with the Montreal Impact . The Italian striker limped off 30 minutes into the 2nd leg of the Canadian Championship semi-final against Toronto FC. The good news about Paponi coming to Montreal was the shift (temporary or not) to a 4-4-2.

Even with Paponi out, Marco Schällibaum still played Marco Di Vaio alongside Andrew Wenger. The confidence boost that Wenger received from the 6-0 win over TFC was present against the San Jose Earthquakes. Though, the attacking is still thin with only Sanna Nyassi as the only other ''forward'' in the lineup.

When will we see the Montreal Impact's full potential over a sustained period of time? Are you feeling that the Montreal Impact have unfinished business unfulfilled potential?