TUKWILA, Wash. – The Seattle Sounders expect to return to action this weekend with a nearly full roster of available players, despite a long week of international duty and some bruises along the way for some key starters.
Head coach Sigi Schmid said Friday that both left back Joevin Jones (knee) and center back Brad Evans (shoulder) have been cleared to play against the Montreal Impact on Saturday (7 pm PT; Q13 FOX; Univision Seattle; KIRO 97.3 FM/El Rey 1360 AM), giving the team a shot at a first-choice back line for the first time since the season opener on March 6.
Evans hasn’t played since suffering a separated shoulder injury in that match, and Jones went down with an apparent injury earlier this week while playing with Trinidad & Tobago.
Jones returned to Seattle on Thursday night and trained lightly with the club on Friday.
“He just got kicked in the knee at the end of the game, but it was just a kick in the knee,” Schmid said of Jones. “It’s a bruise.”
Evans said earlier this week he expects to don a shoulder brace for an extended period of time as he continues to recover from his injury, but Schmid asserted the team captain should be available against Montreal.
“He’s been able to train all week, and been full in training,” Schmid said. “He hasn’t had any issues or problems.”
Schmid added that both Clint Dempsey and Jordan Morris trained in full on Friday after suiting up earlier this week with the U.S. national team and U.S. Under-23 team, respectively. Both are expected to be available on Saturday.
Midfielder Erik Friberg (knee) is the only starter expected to be unavailable, and will likely be replaced for the second straight game by Cristian Roldan.
