TUKWILA, Wash. — Jhon Kennedy Hurtado (above) and O’Brian White may both be ready to play a role in Saturday’s match against Chivas USA, Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid told reporters after training on Thursday. The pair had each played 45 minutes in Tuesday’s Reserve League match at Vancouver.
A third Sounder, Brad Evans, looks more likely to be held until next week’s CONCACAF Champions League match against Comunicaciones of Guatemala.
“They did OK,” Schmid said of the injured trio. “We’re pushing Evans right now. We wanted to push him hard today. We’ll probably push him hard tomorrow. He’s probably not going to play this weekend, because last time we thought we brought him back a shade too early. Tuesday’s probably more appropriate for him, but you never know.
“Kennedy looks alright, so we need to make a decision on him as well — whether he starts, whether he’s on the bench, how we’re going to approach that one.”
After a day off for the reserves, Thursday’s training session saw White (blood clot) and Hurtado (MCL sprain) looking active in drills, as was Evans, who practiced lightly on Wednesday as well.
Evans, especially, looked strong in a shooting drill toward the end of training.
With the Sounders set to embark on six games in 18 days, the added depth is welcome. Defender Tyson Wahl confirmed that the club was planning to rotate players throughout the coming few weeks, in hopes of keeping players fresh while also fielding competitive teams.
After Saturday’s Chivas USA match (4 pm ET, watch LIVE online), Seattle meet Comunicaciones at home Tuesday before an away game at FC Dallas the following weekend.
Andrew Winner covers the Seattle Sounders for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on Twitter @AndrewWinnerMLS
