Drogba will not play on turf to start MLS season

The Ivorian will miss four of the Montreal Impact’s first five games because the club won't allow him to play on artificial surfaces.

MONTREAL — Due to ongoing knee problems, the Montreal Impact won’t risk Didier Drogba playing on turf to start the MLS season, club technical director Adam Braz told assembled media at Olympic Stadium on Thursday.

“Didier won’t be available for the beginning of the season while we’re training or playing on turf,” Braz said. “It’s too big of a risk for us to take with him with his knee. As we saw last year when we played [on turf] in New England, his knee really swelled up and he really had a tough time recovering afterwards for the playoffs.”

Not playing on…