FC Cincinnati: GK Roman Celentano out for RBNY match with ankle injury
The timeline might not be in clear view but the immediate impact of FC Cincinnati goalkeeper Roman Celentano's ankle injury is.
Celentano will be out for FC Cincinnati's Saturday match against New York Red Bulls at TQL Stadium, FCC head coach Pat Noonan said during a Thursday news conference at the Mercy Health Training Center. The ankle injury occurred during the first half of Saturday's 1-1 draw with Charlotte FC at Bank of America Stadium. Celentano played through the ailment against Charlotte but will now miss at least one game as he recovers.
"Roman will be out long-term. Depends on how you view 'long-term' but it will be a couple weeks," Noonan said. "Certainly this weekend, he's not available and then we'll kind of see where he's at next week in his availability for next weekend's matchup (at Montreal)."
"Roman's easy. He knows he's not going to be available. He's in a boot just to protect the ankle in the moment and, like I said, he'll be out of the boot relatively soon. It's just to protect it. It's the first time he's had an injury. There's ways that medical think they can speed the recovery process, so next week could look different. The only certainty we have right now is that he will not be available for our game this weekend."
Celentano has missed a variety of games and competitions over his young career, but mostly for rotational purposes. Saturday will mark the first match of any kind he's missed due to injury since taking over the starting job from Cincinnati goalkeeper Alec Kann in April 2022.
Kann, who was unable to train with his hands until recent weeks due to recovery from an offseason medical procedure, is a possibility to start in goal for FCC. Evan Louro, who was initially signed by FCC toward the end of the 2022 regular season, has been healthy throughout 2024 and dressing in Kann's place on match days.
Paul Walters might have been a candidate to dress for matches in Celentano's absence but he is currently out on-loan with Hartford Athletic of the USL Championship.
Noonan said Thursday he was confident in his two available goalkeeper options.
"Obviously, we've put Paul Walters on-loan but between Alec and Evan, we're very comfortable and confident with where we're at," Noonan said. "(Alec) is available and ready."
'Quimi' Ordonez loaned out to Swedish club
The next step of Arquimides Ordonez's development well come in Europe. He could end up staying there, too.
FC Cincinnati announced Thursday it loaned Ordoñez, a forward player, to Östersunds FK of the Swedish Superettan through Dec. 31, 2024. Östersunds can also permanently acquire Ordonez via the "buy option" included in the loan.
Ordoñez has made 25 appearances across all competitions. His first goal with the club served as the game-winner in a 1-0 win over Louisville City FC in the 2023 U.S. Open Cup Third Round. With FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS NEXT Pro, Ordoñez has totaled 13 goals in 24 appearances across 2022 and 2023.
Since signing as a Homegrown player in 2021, Ordonez played sparingly for FC Cincinnati's first-team, making 25 appearances across all competitions.
Ordonez was more prolific with FC Cincinnati 2 in MLS Next Pro, where he totaled 13 goals in 24 appearances across 2022 and 2023.
Ordonez had not appeared for FC Cincinnati at any level in 2024 prior to his departure for Sweden, which he teased to via a social media post earlier this week.
This article originally appeared on Cincinnati Enquirer: FC Cincinnati: GK Roman Celentano out for RBNY match with ankle injury
