Portland Timbers defender Norberto Paparatto has been suspended one match by the MLS Disciplinary Committee for his elbow to the head of Seattle Sounders defender Chad Marshall. The two players came together in last Sunday's 4-2 Timbers loss during a corner kick and a high elbow from Paparatto struck Marshall in the head, knocking him to the turf and requiring that the Seattle trainers come onto the pitch.
The incident was made more scary given Marshall's history of concussions, which limited his playing time with the Columbus Crew over the last several years leading up to his move to the Sounders over the offseason.
Paparatto, outside of the Timbers' unfortunate performance against Seattle that did not cover any of their defenders in glory, had been performing well at centerback for the team since coming back from a series of mid-season injuries that had severely limited his playing time.
Without Paparatto available, the Timbers will likely turn to either Pa Modou Kah, who recently returned to playing shape after a long layoff due to achilles tendinitis, or will bring Danny O'Rourke into the center of the defense from his recent outside back spot and allow Alvas Powell to deputize for him at right back. Powell in particular seems like a probable candidate after Caleb Porter mentioned him as a young player who could have a greater role with the first team following yesterday's practice.
The MLS press release:
MLS Disciplinary Committee Decision: Week 24
NEW YORK (August 28, 2014) – The MLS Disciplinary Committee has suspended Portland Timbers defender Norberto Paparatto one game and fined him an undisclosed amount for serious foul play which endangered the safety of an opponent in the 39th minutes of match on August 24 against Seattle Sounders FC (VIDEO).