Taking the stage at the 2018 Chicago Fire Season Kickoff Luncheon on Monday, Dax McCarty wasted no time providing an update on his injured teammate and fellow University of North Carolina Tar Heel Jonathan Campbell.
Campbell, now entering his third season since being made a first-round SuperDraft selection by the Fire out of UNC in 2016, recently was announced to have suffered a facial fracture that required surgery and will sideline him for approximately six weeks.
"Our teammate, our brother can't be with us today," McCarty began his speech at the Hyatt Regency in Chicago. "I just want you guys to spare a thought for him, he's doing great, we got word that he came out of surgery very well. He's going to be fine, so I'm allowed to tell this little nugget about how he got injured."
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McCarty and his fellow Fire teammates stood by last Wednesday during the squad's preseason friendly in Bradenton against Nashville SC as Campbell endured a bit of insult added to his injury.
"He was doing what a proper defender is supposed to do, which is stop a counterattack," McCarty said. "Unfortunately, he slid and he stopped a counterattack with [the opponent's] knee, he got kneed in the face, and he literally broke his face. He had to go off the field, and right before he was getting into the ambulance I think the ref still felt the need to give him a yellow card for stopping this counterattack. I think we all felt a little bad for Jonny there, but that just sort of speaks to the game of soccer sometimes."
Despite the injury, Campbell was back on social media this week to let his fans know he's still laser-focused on helping the Men In Red reach their goals in 2018:
