Crew SC coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said Tuesday that Saravia, on loan to a Swedish second-division club, had an operation to place a screw in the fifth metatarsal in his foot.

The intent behind sending Rodrigo Saravia on loan to Sweden was to get the 24-year-old from Guatemala playing time and a soccer challenge beyond what he’d likely experience in the second-tier United Soccer League.

The hope for Crew SC remains that he will contribute for the Swedish Superettan’s IK Frej Taby at some point this season, but that hope will be put on hold for the next couple months.

After a Guatemalan radio station tweeted a photo of the defensive midfielder recovering post-surgery Monday evening with his right foot in a boot, Crew SC coach and sporting director Gregg Berhalter said Tuesday that Saravia’s operation was to repair a broken fifth metatarsal in his foot.

“This is a tricky one. He’s not on our roster, right? He’s on loan, but what I’ll say is he broke his fifth metatarsal and he got operated on and they put a screw in his fifth metatarsal,” Berhalter said. “He’ll do the recovery there (in Sweden) and we’ll hope that he’s available to play again for his team in eight to 10 weeks.”

Berhalter said Saravia suffered the injury during a practice. The Crew has recall privileges on Saravia, Berhalter told The Dispatch during Crew SC’s trip to Charleston in February, but he is expected to remain in Sweden following his recovery.

Crew SC selected Saravia 19th overall in the 2016 MLS SuperDraft out of Florida Gulf Coast University. He made 10 appearances, including one start, for the Crew in 2016.

Meram makes team of the week

Crew SC midfielder Justin Meram made his first appearance on MLSSoccer.com’s Team of the Week on Monday night after he scored twice in Columbus’ 2-0 victory over Orlando City SC on Saturday at Mapfre Stadium.

Meram, who has scored three goals and added two assists through five games, putting him on pace to best his 2016 mark of five goals and 13 assists, said he didn’t take much stock in the weekly honor.

“Just playing my game. It’s always fun to see, but really it’s just a team effort and that’s just kind of my mindset this year,” Meram said. “I’m not going to pat myself on the back, that’s not what this is about. This isn’t about me. This is about the team, and that’s all.”

Meram did, however, elaborate on his latest goal celebration, in which he and Crew SC forward Ola Kamara pantomimed sprinkling salt on food in a manner similar to a popular internet meme.

“I think it was Ola (who came up with the idea). We were talking about it,” Meram said. “I grabbed a little bit of white grass, kind of like a little bit of salt, but I don’t think he grabbed enough. So we’re going to have to work on that.”

Mensah on the mend

After missing Saturday’s game with a hamstring strain suffered in the Crew’s 3-2 victory over the Portland Timbers late last month, Jonathan Mensah continues to work his way back to full speed but did not participate in team drills during the open portion of Tuesday’s workout.

Mensah, a 26-year-old center back who signed with the club as a designated player in early January, participated in individual ladder, ball-dribbling and change-of-direction drills off to the side Tuesday. He ran a series of timed laps on the Crew’s back training field Sunday while the second team scrimmaged Michigan State University.

“He’s getting better,” Berhalter said. “He’s doing more activity, so we’ll have to see. We’ll take it day by day.”

If Mensah is not ready to play in Saturday’s game against the Chicago Fire, center back Alex Crognale is again expected to replace him at center back alongside Nicolai Naess.

“I’m feeling good and I’m feeling good for the team in general because we’re doing really well,” Mensah said Tuesday. “That’s a big positive thing for me, for the team and for everybody else around the team.”

Portland’s Diego Valeri slid into Mensah in the 70th minute on March 25th at Mapfre Stadium. Mensah lay on the pitch for a couple minutes before walking to the bench and coming off for Crognale.

“I wasn’t scared because I felt I was cramping at first, so I knew it wasn’t anything big,” Mensah said of the injury. “But then, as he touched me, I was a little scared, but then as I stood up it wasn’t anything serious, so I was OK.”

Mensah felt further relief once the team received the results of his MRI last Monday. He said he remains positive and expects to return to the field shortly.

“MRI, we checked everything with the results and it wasn’t that bad, so I was like, ‘Oh, I can breathe now,’ so it was good,” Mensah said.

@AEricksonCD