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Darlington Nagbe is a marked man. Statistics continually have him as the most fouled player in Major League Soccer. During the Portland Timbers match with LA Galaxy on Sunday, the United States international was yet another victim of a reckless and dirty tackle. This time it was at the hands (feet) of a man with a long and familiar list of victims. Our old pal Nigel de Jong, the same man who broke Stuart Holden's leg in 2010, is the same one to send Nagbe off on a stretcher.
Ouch! @LAGalaxy's Nigel de Jong goes in hard on @TimbersFC's Darlington Nagbe, emerges with a yellow card. #LAvPOR https://t.co/sQS1EQIUZI
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) April 11, 2016
De Jong only received a yellow card for this terrible tackle (just like he did for the tackle that broke Holden's leg).
Just before the last set of World Cup qualifiers Nagbe got fouled hard by Real Salt Lake's Burrito Martinez that caused him to be limited in USMNT training. This time it appears as it if may even be worse as the midfielder had to be carried off the field on a stretcher. Time and time again Nagbe has been targeted by the more physical players in MLS and has walked away, but Nigel de Jong might have finally got the job done.
Darlington Nagbe cannot put weight on his left ankle. Needs wheelchair off the pitch. #MLS pic.twitter.com/yKLxun06VU
— Julie Stewart-Binks (@JSB_FOX) April 11, 2016
Only time will tell how severe the injury is. We can only hope for the best.