Célio Pompeu’s pain was evident.
After going down to the turf early in Saturday’s first half at Dallas, Pompeu writhed in agony. He had just dislocated his ankle and fractured his fibula after a collision with defender Nkosi Tafari, and the urgency of the first responders on hand at Toyota Stadium made clear that this was no ordinary injury situation.
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Hours later at a Dallas-area hospital, Pompeu underwent surgery that will sideline him for the next nine months, ending his breakout 2024 campaign and dealing a further blow to a CITY squad desperate for a positive break. In a season full of injuries, bad luck, and misfortune, Pompeu’s injury stings as much as anything.
“We need to rally around Célio now,” CITY call-up John Klein says.
As Pompeu leaves the hospital in Texas and returns to St. Louis this week, he can count on his teammates lifting him up—just as he has done for them since joining the organization two years ago.
“He always brings a smile to us in our environment,” Carnell said Monday afternoon. “Now it’s time for payback that we give him the smiles, and give him the energy he needs right now. It’s a tough moment but yeah, we will help him get through this.”
There’s an urgency for CITY to find better form as its winless skid stretches to six matches ahead of Wednesday’s home game against Colorado. Even so, it’s hard to picture how the club will respond without its most effervescent and explosive on-the-ball talent. Pompeu’s connection with João Klauss has been a saving grace for CITY at times this season, and his impact off of the pitch seems as strong as his impact on it.
“I think you guys know how close they are to the team and their teammates,” CITY head coach Bradley Carnell said after Saturday’s match. “Just to keep on pushing each other through moments, and sometimes we are thrown a curveball and we have to deal and move on with it.”
Without Pompeu in the lineup, CITY will miss a player whose carries into the box rank sixth in the league—he only trails names such as Lucho Acosta, Federico Bernardeschi, and Denis Bouonga. In other words, it’s an enormous blow.
His absence is disappointing for other reasons, too. Pompeu has been on an astronomical progression since signing with CITY2 a little more than two years ago. He has worked hard to earn his place on the first team, and as he’s gotten more comfortable in his role, Pompeu has at times functioned as St. Louis’ only danger in its attack.
“Everyone’s going to miss Célio,” Anthony Markanich said of his left side partner. “I think he’s one of our best attackers on the ball, especially in 1-v-1. We did have a pretty good connection. So yeah, we’re all going to miss him.”
At the same time, there is an opportunity for someone to fill. Yet given all that Pompeu means to the club on and off the field, filling that role won’t be easy.
