CARSON, Calif. – Landon Donovan’s out. Gyasi Zardes is hurt. Jose Villarreal is with the US Under-20s in Mexico.
Luckily for the Galaxy, Mike Magee won’t be joining them on the “inactive” list for Sunday’s opener vs. Chicago (5 pm ET, Univision). So says head coach Bruce Arena after the veteran attacker missed training three days thanks to what has been described as a minor knee injury.
Magee, expected to partner Robbie Keane up top in Donovan's absence, left last Friday night's preseason finale against Colorado in the 75th minute after he was kicked in his left knee. He received treatment on the bench, and Arena said he was OK – but Magee wasn't with the team during Monday's training session at the Home Depot Center.
“He's fine,” Arena said Monday. “[He's not here] because he just got kicked the other day.”
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Magee wasn't made available after the 2-1 victory over the Rapids at UC Santa Barbara nor following Monday's session.
“I think he'll be OK,” Keane said Monday. “He got a knock, obviously, from the game. ... He'll be OK.”
If Magee isn't OK, Arena has limited options up front vs. the visiting Fire. Donovan isn't slated to return from his leave of absence for another month, and Zardes suffered a broken fifth metatarsal in his left foot. With Villarreal also out, that leaves youngster Jack McBean – who scored three goals in LA's preseason games – and rookie Charlie Rugg, who’s being converted to right midfield.
Magee, too, is primarily a midfielder, but he played on the front line nearly all of preseason.
That’s not the end of the injury concerns, however. Second-year defender Tommy Meyer appears doubtful for the opener. He's been out for a week-and-a-half with a hamstring strain.
“Tommy's doing fine,” Arena said. “He's moving along. You know, it's a week-to-week type of thing, so we'll see how he moves along during the week.”
