When D.C. United acquired Patrick Nyarko before the beginning of the 2016 season, he fast became one of the most important offensive players on the team. With his pace and his knack for finding the open man for a goal, he helped keep the offense motoring throughout the season. However, it was our very own Steven Streff who noted that for 2017, “[c]oncussions will be a cause for concern for the winger,” and unfortunately he was correct.
Nyarko missed the last 13 matches of the season due to a concussion that was discovered after he suffered a scratch cornea against the Houston Dynamo on July 22nd. Persistent symptoms caused him to miss the rest of the season due to that concussion. Nyarko also missed 7 games early in the season due to a hamstring injury, and because of that he struggled on the season.
Nyarko played in 14 games (12 starts), tallying 1 goal and 2 assists in 1028 minutes. Both his assists came in back-to-back road matches, against Dallas on July 4th and at Seattle on July 19th. His one goal was an important one, a game winner against Atlanta United on June 21st.
When Nyarko was in the game and on the wings, he added a speed element that many of our other options could not provide. He also has terrific passing ability and that was missing in the attacking third, where he could find open men in the box for scores. Coming back from the hamstring injury, he was a step slower and not quite as crisp with his passing. That could be attributed to rust, but his presence on the wing was missed down the stretch, and it seems that he will need more time to fully recover from this most recent concussion.
Patrick Nyarko made a base salary of $235,000 (guaranteed salary $250,750) this season, and the multiple concussions (at least 3 since he joined the Black-and-Red) have got to be a concern. Still, if he can fully recover, his speed and ability to create scoring chances will be useful on a team that couldn’t muster a lot of offense in 2017. Alright, you know the drill by now: