Already weighed down by intense schedule congestion and missing starting centerback Arturo Ortiz to suspension, UNAM Pumas were dealt another blow when they discovered that striker Juan Ignacio Dinenno may miss at least the first leg of the Concacaf Champions League finals against Seattle Sounders, as he continues to struggle with a muscle injury
Dinenno, whose last appearance ended with him receiving a red card on April 17, has apparently been dealing with this injury for some time but has already been ruled out for Saturday’s game against Chivas de Guadalajara and is apparently in doubt for the first match against the Sounders.
Dinenno is the leading scorer in CCL play this year with seven goals in six matches, and has 15 goals across all competitions this year. Pumas’ next highest scorer is winger Washington Corozo with eight goals in 38 matches.
Pumas are 2-1-0 in the three matches they’ve played without Dinenno during the Clausura season. In Pumas’ most recent match without Dinenno, Pumas coach Andres Lillini opted to go with a two-forward setup with Cardozo and Favio Alvarez starting. Pumas lost that game 2-0 to fellow playoff contender San Luis.