SEATTLE – As the Seattle Sounders prepare the first leg of their Western Conference Championship matchup against the Colorado Rapids at CenturyLink Field on Nov. 22, getting a litany of injured key contributors back to full strength is their top priority.
Forward Jordan Morris would qualify as one of the wounded, after straining his hamstring in the second leg of the team's conference semifinals bout with FC Dallas. The 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year award winner was seen lightly jogging on the side of the Sounders’ training sessions at Starfire Sports Complex this week and told reporters on Thursday that he underwent an MRI that yielded positive results.
“No [timeline], really. They said kind of day-to-day and we'll go from there,” Morris said. “[The results of the MRI] were pretty good. I’m just day-to-day and working to get back.”
Morris is far from the only Sounder currently on the mend, however.
Andreas Ivanschitz hasn’t played since spraining his knee in Seattle’s regular season finale against Real Salt Lake on Oct. 23. If the Austrian midfielder can make his return against Colorado, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said it could provide his attack with a tangible boost against Colorado’s notoriously stingy defense.
Schmetzer added that Ivanschitz "looked really good" in training on Friday as he continues to recover from the injury.
“His creativity on the field [is important],” Schmetzer said. “But number two: Then you have two guys taking set pieces, with him and Nico [Lodeiro]. It gives us more options on set pieces. It would be a massive help.”
Captain Brad Evans also returned to full training this week after dealing with nagging back and calf injuries, while midfielder Alvaro Fernandez and center back Roman Torres are working their way back from hamstring issues of their own.
While the two-week international break ahead of the conference championship could make the task of maintaining his side’s recent torrid run of form a tricky one, Schmetzer said it could be just what the doctor ordered from a health perspective.
“Yeah, we would have liked to play maybe this weekend because we had some momentum,” Schmetzer said. “But the reality is, it’s an international window. It gives us time to get Jordy, Ivanschitz, Flaco and Brad back on the field. The timing is good for us.”
Evans echoed that sentiment on Thursday, saying his expectation is that he and his injured comrades will be ready for the first leg against the Rapids.
“We need to get guys back to 100 percent as [much as] we can,” Evans said. “All hands on deck leading up to this next game. We want to give ourselves the best chance and to do that, we’ve got to have a full-health roster.
“I think everybody who’s on international duty is ready. In another 10 days we should have a full roster, ready to go.”
