It’s been a common refrain from Adrian Heath and the club’s top brass this year: injuries to key Minnesota United players are one of the main reasons the team has been less competitive in 2018 than the team anticipated. It’s true that the Loons have missed key contributors to injury—as of the most recent MLS Players Union salary release, the team’s fourth, fifth, and sixth highest-paid players (Kevin Molino, Ethan Finlay, and Sam Cronin) were all in the midst of season-ending injury spells.