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Mexico’s Copa América tournament got off to a nightmare start as star midfielder Edson Álvarez exited the first half in tears as he pulled up with an injury.
Midway through the first half Álvarez was tracking back to help defend a Jamaica counterattack when he went down grabbing the back of his leg. There was no contact with any other players.
Edson Álvarez injury vs Jamaica
Edson Álvarez had to leave the game after going down untouched on this play pic.twitter.com/0OlBkvqvoU
— FOX Soccer (@FOXSoccer) June 23, 2024
An official injury hasn’t been announced yet, however it looks like a classic hamstring issue. Mexico and West Ham fans will be hoping it’s not too severe.
Fans watching the game were quick to blame the field at NRG Stadium in Houston, Texas. The usual turf field was replaced with grass.
Temporary grass was a controversial topic during Copa América’s opening game between Argentina and Canada as players from both sides complained about the “disaster” field.
Pictures taken of the grass at NRG Stadium before the game showed similar signs of less-than-ideal field conditions.
Houston, para Mexico-Jamaica
An up-close look at the grass pitch at NRG Stadium, which… may or may not be a talking point pic.twitter.com/v7suvntS22— Henry Bushnell (@HenryBushnell) June 22, 2024
You're not going to believe this but there are problems with the grass turf at NRG Stadium. #CopaAmèrica
— David In Austin (@DavidInAlief) June 23, 2024
Was the grass to blame for Álvarez’s injury? Fans online certainly think so.
Mexican National Team injuries on grass laid over turf fields.
Chapo Montes pre 2014 WCNéstor Araujo pre 2018 WC
Edson Álvarez Copa América
All in Texas .. all on newly laid grass on turf fields. ️
STOP WITH LAYING GRASS OVER TURF FIELDS
— herculez gomez (@herculezg) June 23, 2024
2 Players injured on grass over turf pitches in just three games at Copa América:
• Luis Advíncula (PER)
• Edson Álvarez (MEX)It’s difficult to prove that the grass on turf is correlated to these injuries in such a small sample size but the trend isn’t great
— Nico Cantor (@Nicocantor1) June 23, 2024
Greedy nfl owners can’t afford to put natural grass in their stadiums smh
— (@13ToAiyuk) June 23, 2024
Shitty ass fields ..
— Osvaldo Mora (@osvaldomora562) June 23, 2024
Is the fucking fields man, they better sort it out before the World Cup, this is a fucking embarrassment. ATL, NY/NJ, and NRG all full of artificial turfs. ♂️♂️
— (@czsofargone) June 23, 2024
Once an official injury is announced we’ll have a better idea of what happened to Mexico’s star. In this writer’s opinion it looks more like an unfortunate hammy pull than anything to do with the grass.
Other stadiums hosting Copa América games with temporary grass include Bank of America Stadium in Charlotte, AT&T Stadium in Arlington, NRG Stadium in Houston and SoFi Stadium in Los Angeles.
Mexico’s next game will be at SoFi Stadium.
