Sounders FC centerback and reigning MLS Defender of the Year Chad Marshall will miss the team’s matchup against the LA Galaxy this weekend due to the sprained neck he suffered on Wednesday, but he’s expected to return to training as early as next week.
Marshall sustained the injury near the end of the team’s training session at the team’s Starfire practice facility in Tukwila, and underwent a comprehensive battery of medical tests and protocols before he was released to his family. He did not attend the team’s training session on Friday.
“It’s a neck injury, so obviously there are precautions we need to take,” Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said Friday. “But our expectation is that he shouldn’t miss more than this game coming up. He’s been released, he’s feeling much, much better.
“Now it’s just a matter of, with certain injuries like that, you have to go through through a protocol, and you follow that protocol. We always err on the side of caution, but we fully expect to see Chad around next week.”
The Sounders host the Galaxy on Sunday (6:30 p.m. PT / FOX Sports 1, KIRO Radio 97.3 FM, El Rey 1360 AM), their first home game in nearly a month and the only regular-season meeting in Seattle between the two Western Conference rivals.
Marshall and the Sounders will benefit from a bye week on October 10-11 before they return to action October 18 in Houston, and then they conclude the regular season at home against Real Salt Lake on October 25.
Marshall, 31, has appeared in 27 games this year, his second season with the Sounders since coming over from Columbus Crew SC last year. His 2014 MLS Defender of the Year honor of was the third of his 12-year career, the most by any player in league history.
Veterans Zach Scott and Brad Evans are expected to pair at centerback for the Sounders on Sunday.
“[Brad] Evans has played a lot of minutes at center back and so has Zach Scott, so I’m not too worried,” Schmid said.
Schmid also said that left back Oniel Fisher is nursing a hamstring injury sustained during training this week, and his status for the Galaxy game is uncertain. The 23-year-old rookie from Jamaica has appeared in 11 games for the club this season.
