“It’s bad timing obviously from [Miller’s] point of view, being at this stage of the season,” Coach Wayne Rooney said Thursday. Bono “has done well for us when he has come in. So we have full faith in Alex.”
Although he has played sparingly in the regular season — his lone start came in a 1-0 victory at FC Dallas on July 4 — Bono handled the job in three Leagues Cup games and two U.S. Open Cup matches. He has conceded four goals and recorded four shutouts in seven appearances overall.
Miller, 30, and Bono, 29, arrived in Washington last winter via free agency after long careers in MLS. From 2016 to 2022, Bono made 132 regular season and playoff starts for Toronto FC.
Luis Zamudio, 25, will back up Bono, who will step into the lineup Saturday against the Chicago Fire at Audi Field.
Even if Miller had not gotten hurt, Rooney said he would have weighed a change. After good performances early in the season — which earned him an all-star berth from Rooney, coaching the MLS side — Miller has struggled at times this summer.
Based on the previous few games, Rooney said, “It was probably a decision I would have had to have made anyway. … That decision has been taken out of my hands. Now Alex has got a chance in what is the most important part of the season. The role is his to now go and show me what he can do.”
With eight matches left, United (8-12-6, 30 points) trails the Fire (8-10-8, 32) for the ninth and final spot in the Eastern Conference. Charlotte FC (7-9-9, 30), the New York Red Bulls (7-11-8, 29) and New York City FC (6-10-11, 29) are also in the mix.
United, which has not made the playoffs since 2019, has lost three straight by an 8-1 margin and is in a 1-4-2 rut across all competitions.
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