MLS : The Guadeloupean Thierry Henry touched on his left knee

Thierry Henry will be absent,this time, it won't be artificial turf that keeps New York Red Bulls captain Thierry Henry off the field

Henry will not participate in this weekends match against the Montreal impact after picking up a mild MCL sprain in his left knee during this weekends DC United encounter. MRI results confirmed the diagnosis on Monday.

The team is 'holding out hope' that he is available for their home fixture against Philadelphia the following week.

'Thierry is someone who always wants to play,' head coach Mike Petke explained.

Nevertheless, Petke did confirm what Juninho alluded to EoS earlier this morning; the rookie coach was hesitant to play certain players on that turf. Henry's status would have been in question regardless of the injury.

'It was one of those things that I was leaning towards not even bringing him to Montreal but no decision was final yet,' he admitted. 'We still had a week until the DC game.

'This is a little setback for Thierry this week but it shouldn't be too serious. This is very ideal for me not to play on turf with his Achilles' tendon. Not ideally how it worked out but it did work out.'

Speaking of Juninho, the Brazilian veteran will be available to play. Whether he gets minutes or not is anyone's guess.

Until then, Petke expects to rely on his forward corps to pick up the slack in the captains absence.

'Peguy will hopefully be back with his visa,' he indicated. 'A guy like Amando Moreno who while he is young has shown glimpses here and there. Josue Martinez has been doing well, showing some promise in training.

'We do have options or we can go with lone striker depending how you want to play.'

Henry becomes the second high profile player to miss this highly anticipated match pitting the undefeated Impact against the winless Red Bulls. Alessandro Nesta will also be out with an injury.