TUKWILA, Wash. – The Seattle Sounders have some potential injury concerns a day before their upcoming clash with the Colorado Rapids, as two Designated Players are questionable for the team’s road match in Colorado on Saturday (6 p.m. PT; Q13 FOX/Univision-Seattle/KIRO 97.3 FM/El Rey 1360 AM).
Forwards Clint Dempsey and Nelson Valdez both had their training sessions augmented on Friday as the team weighs the possibility of resting them for the game in Commerce City.
Dempsey stayed inside all day Friday in lieu of training with the team due to apparent groin tightness. Dempsey has played every minute of the MLS season thus far and played all 180 minutes of the team’s Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal series before the MLS season began.
“We’re just being a little precautious,” head coach Sigi Schmid told reporters. “He’s a guy that’s played enough games, he’s played two more games than everybody else has at this stage, so we don’t think him missing a little bit of practice is going to hurt him. The main thing is for him to be healthy.”
Added Schmid: “We’re going to make a final decision with him [Friday]. Right now everything is 50/50 to a certain extent, but we’re hoping he can go.”
Valdez, meanwhile, has been rehabbing a slight muscle injury in recent weeks and was able to make in an appearance in last weekend’s match against the Philadelphia Union, indicating that he was ready to make a full return.
However, the Paraguayan left training early with tightness on Friday.
“He’s also been having a little bit of issues,” Schmid said. “He felt a little bit tight right at the end there so we said, ‘Why don’t you just go in and not test it.’”
Youngsters Oalex Anderson and Aaron Kovar have both earned starts this season in place of presumed starters Valdez and Jordan Morris, but veteran Herculez Gomez is also an option for picking up minutes after signing with the team late last month.
