Aside from lingering soreness, Taha Habroune is doing OK in the aftermath of an ugly play at the end of the Crew’s 2-1 victory over rival FC Cincinnati.
Habroune, 20, participated in multiple training sessions and could be available to play Aug. 1 in Miami against Eastern Conference power Inter Miami CF.
“Limping a little bit,” Crew interim coach Laurent Courtois said July 30. “[It’s] painful when he tries to change direction, but he was able to train. We tried to modify him a little bit, but he was able to train.”
Habroune was sent to the turf at ScottsMiracle-Gro Field on July 25 by Cincinnati midfielder Gerardo Valenzuela, whose hit nearly sparked a melee and
prompted a postgame tunnel confrontation between the teams.
After going down in a heap while grabbing his right leg, Habroune returned to his feet and limped through the final seconds. Several of his teammates, including Mo Farsi and captain Sean Zawadzki, continued to confront Valenzuela along with other Cincinnati players and coaches.
The MLS gave Valenzuela, who was issued a red card, a two-game suspension plus an undisclosed fine for his actions. The league also issued undisclosed fine amounts to Cincinnati forward Ayoub Jabbari and assistant coach Kenny Arena along with Crew players Mo Farsi, Sean Zawadzki and Max Arfsten for "inciting and/or escalating a mass confrontation."
Habroune and the Crew are now preparing for Inter Miami, and Courtois is hopeful the young midfielder will be available. Habroune is a homegrown player from Columbus and has started 13 of 16 MLS matches this season while logging one goal and one assist in 1,108 minutes.
Dispatch Crew reporter Brian Hedger can be reached at bhedger@dispatch.com
This article originally appeared on The Columbus Dispatch: Crew's Taha Habroune training after melee-inspiring hit vs Cincinnati
