Tim Cahill may have a solid week’s worth of practice under his belt, but his status for Saturday is still up in the air.
Three weeks removed from suffering a torn PCL in his right knee, Cahill continued to train fully for the New York Red Bulls on Friday as they prepared for a crucial Eastern Conference tilt against rivals, the Philadelphia Union.
But following the near-hour-long session, Cahill did not express the same type of optimism about his availability that head coach Mike Petke has had this week, saying he is unsure if he will even be allowed to dress for Saturday night’s match (8 pm ET; NBC Sports Network).
“I don’t know, I’m leaving it up to the medical department and they’ll brief me after and see what happens tomorrow and all I can do is just get myself as ready as possible,” Cahill told reporters after training at Red Bull Arena. “It’s been three weeks I think, nearly, to the day I got injured. The time, people were expecting it to be longer, but you know, it’s been a great recovery.
“I don’t know if it’s 100 percent yet until the doctors give me the okay, but I’ve enjoyed working hard and getting myself back as fit as possible and I suppose tomorrow will be the day that they’re going to let me know. … I’m looking forward to hopefully being back with the squad again on a team format.”
One player who will definitely not be in uniform against the Union is recent acquisition Bradley Wright-Phillips. Wright-Phillips was back training with the Red Bulls on Friday after having secured his P-1 visa in England on Thursday, but Petke ruled him out for the weekend.
“I mean he just got in this morning so I wouldn’t think that he’s going to be available for tomorrow’s game,” Petke said. “It wouldn’t be fair for him, it wouldn’t be fair for the guys who worked hard all week. We’ll give him a week of training under his belt and he’ll be available for the Chivas [USA] game.”
Franco Panizo covers the New York Red Bulls for MLSsoccer.com. He can be reached by email at Franco8813@gmail.com.
