SEATTLE – Brad Evans could realistically be available for the Seattle Sounders’ first road game of the season next weekend, if all goes well after the center back and team captain suffered a shoulder injury on Sunday night.
Evans went down in the 88th minute of the team’s 1-0 loss to Sporting Kansas City at CenturyLink Field after he was undercut by SKC forward Dom Dwyer while attempting to win a header near midfield. Evans was in obvious pain immediately and had to be subbed out for defender Dylan Remick.
“It looked rough,” said Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei, who suffered a sprained shoulder last July and was forced to miss time with the injury. “When you get undercut … and the guy behind you is getting flipped over, I think it’s extremely dangerous and it didn’t look good. I know what happened to me last year and it was quite painful. He’s a leader for us, so hopefully he won’t be gone for too long.”
While the extent of the injury was not confirmed following the match, Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said Evans’ recovery time now depends on his ability to play with pain. The Sounders travel to face Real Salt Lake on March 12.
“It popped out and popped back in …” Schmid said. “It all depends, it’s a matter of pain. You could play, probably, within a week.”
Schmid also offered an update on the health of midfielder Erik Friberg, who suffered a concussion during the team’s midweek match against Club America after colliding with center back Chad Marshall.
“They’re wrapping him up right now on the concussion protocol,” Schmid said. “He did more [Saturday] and he’ll do more [Monday], so then we’ll see. I can’t tell you exactly when, but he’s progressing.”
Right back Tyrone Mears, meanwhile, was a surprise scratch from the Starting XI on Sunday, but is expected to return soon.
“He’s got a quad strain.” Said Schmid. “We wanted to give him 3-4 days and then we think he’ll be back in full training on Wednesday.”
Morris has “surreal” first MLS experience
Forward Jordan Morris played his first MLS regular season match on Sunday and despite a disappointing result, was overwhelmed by the experience of playing for his hometown club.
“The fans are great; it’s an awesome atmosphere.” Morris said. “It’s cool to be down on the field instead of in the stands, so it’s a dream come true obviously. It leaves you wanting more and wanting to get three points.”
Morris nearly scored on a counterattack in the ninth minute, but his shot drifted over the bar.
“It’s not how you start, it’s how you finish,” Morris said. “There are a lot of games to go, so it’s a minor road bump but we know we’re going to bounce back and get some results.”
Anderson makes first-team debut
Morris wasn’t the only Sounder to make his MLS debut Sunday night. Forward Oalex Anderson was subbed in for Morris in the 83rd minute after being signed to a first-team contract earlier this week.
“To be honest yeah, I had a feeling that I was going to go in today,” said Anderson, who made his debut with S2 last year. “I was a bit nervous because it was my debut but I intended to go into the game and do what I do best.”
Schmid believed Anderson had that something special that could change the game.
“We wanted him to come in today because we thought his pace could cause some problems,” Schmid said. “He has that little bit of burst that is unpredictable…He’s a player that can make some things happen. Sometimes you’re looking for a player too that can come off the bench and find the game quickly and one thing I was happy with Oalex was that he found the game quickly.”
Said Anderson: “[Schmid] told me to just do my thing, Do what I do best - get the ball and run at people.”
