Despite Injury, Lloyd Sam MLS Player of the Week

It's been a tough year, but Saturday seemed like a breakthrough.

Playing his normal role, Lloyd Sam came on at the hour mark and made an instant impact. Firs, he slips a pass to Fabian Espindola, who proceeded to beat Jimmy Nielsen to give the Red Bulls a 2-1 lead. Then, Sam breaks down the right wing, getting on the receiving end of a Jonny Steele pass before cutting across Peterson Joseph and slotting it home past Jimmy Nielsen.

It was the sort of performance many were waiting for from the Englishman and it was enough to earn him MLS Player of the Week honors.

But what's missed in all that, is Sam only played 27 minutes. He left the game with an injury.

It's a little tragic, that. After showing some promise last season, Sam had been hurt for stretches of the 2013 campaign. He hasn't been getting the playing time he wants and when he finally has a breakthrough, the injury bug that's followed him for most of his career bits again.

Post-game, Sam called it a "minor" knock. Hopefully, he's right and hopefully it's a performance he can build on.