Ryan Gauld Injury Shattering for Vancouver Whitecaps Concacaf Hopes | OneFootball

Ryan Gauld was at the center of nearly everything good the Vancouver Whitecaps did during an enthralling 1-1 draw against CF Monterrey in Leg 1 of their Concacaf Champions Cup series on Wednesday night.

So it was maybe a little surprising to see the Scottsman back in the starting XI three days later after such a heavy lift was needed to rally to a 1-1 draw and keep hopes alive for the return leg in Mexico. And that likely turned to dread once fans at BC Place had to watch their talisman be helped off the field midway through the first half of Saturday's league encounter against CF Montreal, following the scariest kind of injury for a soccer player -- one that did not originate from contact.

After all that breath holding, the rest of the evening revealed some low-key good news for Whitecaps fans.

For starters, the injury didn't cost them a result. Mathias Laborda and Tate Johnson scored on either side of halftime, and the 'Caps cruised to a 2-0 win over a weary Montreal team still less than halfway through a seven-game roadtrip to begin the campaign. And afterward, Whitecaps manager Jesper Sorensen said Gauld was feeling more optimistic about the injury than when it first occurred.

Even so, while getting a draw with goals (or better) at Rayados was already a difficult ask, now it's nearly impossible to imagine for the Whitecaps without Gauld at their disposal. And even if this isn't a ligament thing, like many must have originally feared, it also feels like asking him to be back on the field for the next match is almost certainly not in the cards.

Since the start of the 2022 campaign, the Whitecaps have played only 12 regular season matches without Guald making an appearance, winning only three of those. He's either scored or had the primary assist on 37.4% of his side's league goals since the start of the 2022 campaign.

There's also the leadership he provides while heading to the Estadio BBVA, one of the continent's most intimidating grounds. And there's the less empirical school of thought that you need your biggest players in your biggest games.

But the biggest loss here is the knowledge of just how well Gauld played in Leg 1. He was the best player on the field for either side, when the other side was the club that has won Concacaf's top honor more than any other in this century.

It was arguably the best version of Gauld we had seen in a Whitecaps jersey. Which makes the idea of traveling to Mexico without him all that more daunting.