Berte's back: Can Inter Miami's DP striker help end winless skid in Toronto? | OneFootball

Injury gives Berterame time to reflect on his life and priorities

Inter Miami striker Germán Berterame, a 27-year-old Argentinian-born Mexican in his first season with the Herons, was just beginning to find his form beside stars Lionel Messi and Luis Suárez when, July 25 in Montréal, the lights went out.

In the 69th minute of a scoreless match at Stade Saputo, Berterame leaped into the air to challenge for a header on a Miami corner kick. Montréal defenders Daniel Pereira and Efrain Morales also went for the ball, and Morales' elbow struck Berterame in the head. Berterame fell to the ground unconscious. Players from both teams called for medical help; after about 10 minutes of treatment on the field, medics placed an unresponsive Berterame on a stretcher and transported him to the hospital by ambulance. When the match resumed, Suárez converted the penalty kick, and the Herons won the match 1-0.

“I felt the hit and automatically felt like, as I described it, like my TV went off,” Berterame told reporters Friday. “I woke up in the ambulance, conscious, and asked what happened. As the hours went by, I started regaining my memory, remembering everything.”

Berterame suffered undisclosed head and neck injuries and entered the league's concussion protocol. The Miami Herald's Michelle Kaufman reported that Berterame held back tears as he discussed how the injury and recovery affected his family.

“My family took it very hard, my wife had a panic attack for the image that was shown,” he said. "But now I am fine. I am happy. My family is at peace and that’s all that matters.”

The incident and recovery helped Berterame refocus on his life's priorities:

“It hits you hard, makes you think the whole time, reminds you to enjoy every moment, everything, where you work, who your friends are, your family, (to) enjoy my daughters; that’s what I take with me,” he said.

Berterame has seven goals and four assists in 17 appearances for the Herons; five of those scores came after interim coach Guillermo Hoyos reinserted Suárez -- the man Berterame was acquired to replace -- into the starting lineup. He's hoping to continue at the same level of productivity.

“I am very enthusiastic about returning, and anxious,” he said. “What happened is in the past and now my focus is on my return. I was feeling very well before the World Cup and after, before what happened [in Montreal].

“Obviously, the team is very motivated because this team never relaxes, despite the circumstances,” he added. “This team will always give maximum effort. Sometimes things go well, sometimes they don’t, but you have to move forward. That’s also what I’m trying to do myself.”

The Herons host Toronto at 6:30 p.m. tonight at Nu Stadium hoping to end a four-match winless streak. Las Garzas (11-3-6, 39 points) remain in second place in Major League Soccer's Eastern Conference and the Supporters' Shield standings -- seven points behind Nashville SC in both races -- despite having gone just 1-3-2 in Berterame's absence. Toronto is 11th in the East with 21 points.

It's unclear whether Berterame will start tonight after a long layoff, but it wouldn't surprise me. Even when he was struggling to finish his chances early in the season, he always has worked tirelessly and given maximum effort on defense as well as attack. Teams release lineups and bnch rosters about an hour before kickoff.