Sounders FC midfielder Osvaldo Alonso missed the team’s training session on Tuesday with an undisclosed injury, but Head Coach Sigi Schmid said it’s still possible the team’s venerable defensive midfielder will play when the Audi 2015 MLS Cup Playoffs begin on Wednesday.
Alonso came off in the 73rd minute of the Sounders’ playoff-clinching 3-1 win over Real Salt Lake on Sunday in what Schmid later called a precautionary move after Alonso “felt a little bit of something.” The team took part in a regeneration session on Monday - no starting fielder players took the training field – so Tuesday was the first opportunity for Alonso to return after Sunday’s game.
Schmid, however, said the club held him off the field with roughly less than 36 hours remaining before the team’s Western Conference Knockout Round matchup against the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field on Wednesday (7 p.m. PT; JoeTV/UniMas/ROOT Sports/KIRO 97.3/El Rey 1360 AM).
“We kept him inside,” Schmid said. “We wanted him to do some work inside, and we’ll make a decision [on his availability] tomorrow.”
Alonso appeared in 22 of the team’s 34 games during the regular season this year and has appeared in 16 of the team’s 17 postseason games all-time. Injury kept Alonso out of the first leg of the Western Conference Championship last year against the Galaxy before he returned for the second leg in Seattle.
