Crew's Trapp sidelined with 2nd concussion in 17 months

The Columbus Crew will be without influential midfielder Wil Trapp for an undetermined spell after the local lad suffered his second concussion in 17 months.

Trapp, 23, collided with San Jose Earthquakes winger Shaun Francis ten minutes into Saturday's 2-0 Crew victory at the Mapfre Stadium, after being examined by the club's medical staff, the twice-capped American international gingerly marched off the pitch and was substituted for by Dilly Duka.

With a history of head trauma, there's no way of knowing when Trapp will be fit to return.

"We don’t know the severity of it as of now, but we’ll work through it this week," Crew boss Gregg Berhalter told Tom Reed of the Columbus Dispatch.

"I think what initially happened, it wasn’t good, and as time went on and as he walked off the field he started to get clarity and feeling much better. So we’ll get the full scope of it this week."

Trapp's absence has consequences for the sputtering Crew, who sit second from the bottom in the Eastern Conference, only a year removed from making the MLS Cup Final.

With ten matches to play, the Crew are six points adrift of D.C. United and the final playoff spot in the East

Trapp has featured in all 25 of the Crew's league matches this season after missing three months last campaign as a result of picking up a concussion in March.

Should Trapp miss an extended period, Berhalter will likely turn to Mohammed Saeid as a defensive midfield partner to Tony Tchani once MLS play resumes after the international break in the second week of September.