Njabulo Blom, who made a splash in ºüÀêÊÓƵ City SC’s first season but never seemed to get settled after his transoceanic move, is headed home to South Africa.
The team announced Tuesday that it had picked up Blom’s contract option for next season and loaned him to Kaizer Chiefs, his former club in South Africa and one of the most prominent clubs on the continent.
Blom was a regular in the City SC lineup last season, appearing in 27 MLS games and scoring one goal, a game winner against Minnesota, but injuries dotted his time here and this season, with the acquisition of Chris Durkin, his playing time dropped considerably this season and seemed unlikely to come back. Blom last appeared for City SC on July 20 and did not play in the six games since then, including one of which he was suspended for after not joining his team on the sideline for the penalty kick shootout in the Leagues Cup match with Juarez.
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Blom, 24, was a long way from home in ºüÀêÊÓƵ, and that seemed to wear on him. It also complicated his desires to play for the South African national team as it was a 17-hour flight, at best, to join the team.
“I think this is something that he wanted,†interim coach John Hackworth said Tuesday, “and that we were for a long time trying to work out. He was clearly frustrated that it hadn’t happened sooner. But in the end, we found a solution, and I’m just hopeful that he can go make the most of it. He can get settled as a person and as a player again. Maybe back home is the right thing. I know how hard it is for some of these international guys, coming to a foreign country, being so far away. It’s not like you even have an option to go back (for a quick visit). I’m sure that weighed heavily on his mind for a long time. So at the end of the day, hopefully it’s a good situation for us and for him.â€
Blom’s contract was set to expire after this season, but the club had two one-year options. By picking up the option for next season, City SC will still have Blom’s rights when the loan ends next June. Kaizer Chiefs has an option to buy his contract when the loan runs out.
Another setback for Nilsson
The torturous tale of Joakim Nilsson has taken another step as the Swedish center back is out again with a sore hamstring. It’s the same hamstring that has kept him out before but in a different place and isn’t severe as it has been previously. It happens just as Nilsson was about to return to action. He had two days of practice with the team last week before the latest injury.
He won’t play this week and could be available next week, but Hackworth said the team also wants to take a look to see if there’s an explanation for Nilsson injuring his hamstring three times in one season.
“It’s effectively like the lowest grade of what they call it,†Hackworth said. “And so in theory, he could come back even as soon as, probably not this weekend but the next weekend. In the bigger picture, it’s another thing we have to solve. Should we be more cautious with it? Because something’s going on that none of us can figure out or that at least the medical staff is working on. How do we get his body right so that this doesn’t continue to reoccur?â€
In addition to the hamstring injury, which has kept him out of 12 games so far, Nilsson had a knee injury shortly before his arrival last season and a rib injury this season. He’s played in only 23 of a possible 61 MLS games so far. Among the options is shutting down Nilsson for the remainder of the season.
“At the same time, you have Joakim who desperately wants to get back and be involved,†Hackworth said. “And because it’s happened again and again, we have to be cautious. But we’re getting close to the end of the season, and we’ve got to see if we can get him back and get him healthy. ... It’s frustrating. Joakim is a guy that, up until his knee injury, when he was coming here ... he hadn’t been a guy that was ever injured. So since that moment before he arrived here, after he had already signed here, it’s just been one thing after another. And I feel so much for him. He’s such a good person, such a good pro, that you’re just gutted when you watch him go through the agony of again having to go through a rehab process.â€
City2 is in
City2 clinched a spot in the MLS Next Pro playoffs for the third straight season on Monday night, as Brendan McSorley scored in the 89th minute for a 3-2 win over Austin II that put City2 in with five weeks to go in the regular season. Mykhi Joyner had the other two goals, giving him 14 on the season, second-most in Next Pro.
“Step 1, done, make playoffs,†said City2 coach Bobby Murphy. “Step 2, get home field. And Step 3 is win this thing. Just keep putting pressure on Dallas and keep making sure they have to win games.â€
City2 has the second-best record in the developmental league, two points behind North Texas, Dallas’ farm team.
“Everyone’s contributing right now,†said midfielder John Klein, who dropped down from the first team and captained the City2 squad on Monday. “You look around the lineup and it’s just a great team, you’ve got depth at every position, you’ve got quality at every position. It’s really good to see Mykhi scoring, and McSorley is starting to come into his game. There’s a lot of good pieces here.â€