Franco has ACL tear, Barroso also out

Speaking to reporters Thursday ahead of the Chicago Fire’s final home game of the regular season against Toronto FC, Gregg Berhalter confirmed what many had feared: Midfielder André Franco tore his ACL in Tuesday’s victory over Inter Miami.

“André has suffered a torn ACL,” the Fire head coach said. “We kind of knew at the game it was bad news, but we got confirmation. We feel really bad, really bad for the athlete and the entire situation, for the team and everything, but it's something where we're going to have to push through and keep going.”

In addition, right back Leonardo Barroso, who left Saturday’s game against Columbus in the 50th minute, was confirmed to be out with a hamstring injury, which Berhalter called “minor,” adding “we hope that it will be sooner rather than later” for the Portuguese U22 Initiative player’s return.

The news of Franco’s injury couldn’t come at a worse time for the Fire. The team’s recent surge has coincided with Franco’s integration into the squad, and the team has won four of the five games that the Portuguese midfielder started beginning with September 6th against the New England Revolution and culminating in the midweek win over Inter Miami.

Even though the Fire have officially qualified for the postseason, the team’s goals are higher: In their final two matches, they have an opportunity, pending results around them, to push above the wildcard spots and into the first round proper. Doing so would likely also avoid a first round matchup against the Philadelphia Union, who won both of the matches between the sides this season. With the team now set on being “competitive” and possibly advancing in the playoffs, they will need every available advantage including those that the talented Portuguese players brought to the squad.

At Barroso’s position, the Fire have Jonathan Dean to take his space. Dean has proven to be a capable starter in MLS and is having a career season, reaching personal highs for appearances (27), starts (17), minutes (1,561) and goal contributions (5), earning him a new deal that will keep him in Chicago. Justin Reynolds, behind Dean in the depth chat, just scored the first MLS goal of his career against Miami on Tuesday.

While the Fire have a plethora of options at midfield, none play the No. 10 central attacking midfielder role the way that Franco does. The player who can most closely replace Franco’s offensive contributions is Brian Gutiérrez, who has come off the bench in the Fire’s three most recent games. The Fire homegrown, however, lacks Franco’s defensive abilities even though his play in that department has improved significantly that year.

Berhalter could trust Gutiérrez with fulfilling Franco’s responsibilities or consider reverting to the 4-3-3 that served the Fire through most of the season. While the Fire conceded more goals when playing with two center backs, the shift could make sense against the Fire’s final two opponents of the regular season in Toronto FC and the New England Revolution, both of whom have struggled offensively.

That might simply postpone the question of how the Fire would tackle the postseason, however, where they are likely to face teams that are more offensively-potent. If the playoffs started today, the Fire’s first opponent would be the Columbus Crew, who have scored 10 more goals this season than the Revolution and 20 more than Toronto.

Franco’s injury also puts a question before Berhalter and the rest of the team’s front office staff. Franco is with the Fire on loan from FC Porto, his previous club. While Franco was playing well enough to make it a no-brainer to pick up his contract and make the move permanent, the injury puts into question whether the Fire will trigger the contract option.

Although ACL injuries vary in severity and recovery time, players are out for months, and sometimes as much as an entire season. David Poreba, a standout with Fire II who earned a first team deal, suffered an ACL injury in preseason and made his first appearance of 2025 in September with the Next Pro side as he gets back to full fitness.

Picking up Franco’s option would mean that the Fire would have a player on their roster who would likely not be a contributor for the bulk of the season. Even though Franco would not be a Designated Player (DP) for the Fire in 2025, he would likely come with a not-insignificant cap hit that would have to be dealt with one way or another.

At the same time, Franco was showing that he could be an elite in MLS and having a player of his quality without occupying a precious DP slot could be a boon for the Fire’s roster for years to come. Making the move permanent would also show commitment to the midfielder who actually asked to join Chicago, in a reversal of the typical process.

With Franco’s loan expiring at the end of the year, the Fire will have several months to monitor his recovery before they need to reach a final decision, but will likely need to plan for contingencies – finding a way to replace from within for what is likely to be a substantial part of the 2026 campaign or identifying a replacement in his position, either for the season or on a permanent basis.