Seattle Sounders midfielder Ozzie Alonso took 8 painkilling injections before and during MLS Cup

Seattle Sounders midfielder Ozzie Alonso was outstanding in Saturday’s MLS Cup victory, but he needed an alarming amount of painkilling injections to make it through the game.

In a game which featured plenty of defense, Alonso stood tall. He routinely broke up Toronto’s attempts to move up the field, tackling, blocking and even fouling to get the job done. His tactics will infuriate the opposition (he’s a player you hate to face, but love to have), but there’s no question that he’s effective.

All of those plays came on a leg which Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer described as being only “half a leg” due to a pulled tendon.

How was Alonso able to perform so well with only half a leg? The answer is an alarming amount of painkilling injections. Alonso reportedly received four injections before the game and an additional four injections at halftime.

Admittedly, no one here at The Comeback has any real medical experience outside of a wealth of knowledge from Scrubs. That being said, eight injections within this kind of time period sounds like a lot. There’s no question that the injections paid off – Alonso played extremely well – but at what point does this tactic cross the line?