The FC Dallas squad is looking a bit depleted these days. On Thursday, the Hoops lost midfielder Dax McCarty for the Olympics and also saw youngsters Josh Lambo, Brek Shea and Anthony Wallace head to the Milk Cup in Northern Ireland with the U.S. under-20 national team.
The FCD midfield will also not have Marcelo Saragosa available for Sunday's match with the L.A. Galaxy as he will be suspended for yellow card accumulation. And the status of all-star midfielder Juan Toja continues to be in flux as reports have surfaced that he has signed with a Romanian club but Hoops team officials are adamant that nothing is official.
"I still expect to see Juan (Toja) here on Sunday," FCD head coach Schellas Hyndman said. "I don't know where the message is coming from, whether it's from overseas, Juan's agent or whatever, but as far as I know, there is a procedure that we have to go through here in the league and we haven't gone through the procedure. So, I expect Juan to be back here."
Hyndman also hates to lose McCarty for much of the next month but was happy to hear that his young midfielder was heading to Beijing.
"It's fantastic for him," he said. "I got the call yesterday and what I told Dax (McCarty) was that I was really proud of him and really happy for him. It's a goal for him. He's going to represent our country. How much better does it get? He's also going to represent FC Dallas. The sad part is that we really need him. We're not sitting first in the league and it's not like we need to give other people opportunities. He was just starting to play himself back into form. I think playing the other day was the difference of him getting a call in."
One midfielder who has likely played his way into the starting 11 is Arturo Alvarez, who had three goals and two assists early in the year but has struggled since losing his starting spot.
"Arturo (Alvarez) has had a very good week of training," Hyndman said. "I think he's motivated to come out and help this team win. He is a player that I think can add things to this team. One of the comments I just made to him today is that if you can just put yourself in an on position more because sometimes he goes on and then off and so on. Sometimes I think it's because of the heat and the way the team plays. I'm looking at him as a player that if he's on more, then our attack force will be on more as well."
The FCD coach continues to be impressed with rookie attacking midfielder Eric Avila but feels that throwing him on the field to start against LA might be a bit premature.
"It could be (his first start)," Hyndman said. "But it's a tough game to throw him out there. I think we'll be OK but it all depends on injuries and the players being focused for the game."
For all practical purposes, Hyndman also ruled out moving left back Adrian Serioux farther forward, though he is more comfortable in defensive midfield.
"Moving Adrian (Serioux) up into the midfield is always an option but we have to have complete confidence in who is back there," he said. "So, right now, we're planning on Adrian being our defender until we can find a new defender or until we can develop one of our younger players."
Hyndman has also been impressed with the progress of third-year midfielder Michael Dello-Russo but admits he isn't quite ready to start.
"I really like Michael (Dello-Russo)," he said. "I think he does a lot of things well. He's a hard worker and a really good kid. He seems to come out here focused and is always giving his best. Sometimes players need a breath of fresh air and a new set of eyes. I think he has done well and what he needs is more playing time to show he's worthy of a starting spot."
And veteran Bobby Rhine, who has played both in the midfield and in the back this year, will likely be on the 18-man gameday roster but isn't ready to start after suffering an ankle injury several weeks ago.
"It's great to see him out here," Hyndman said. "He's been out for a few weeks and I don't see him at 100 percent. I think he's a player that could be dressing out for us. I need to evaluate a little bit more tomorrow."
The injury bug has also bitten FCD in goal as backup 'keeper Ray Burse remains out. And with Lambo gone with the U.S. youth national team, the Hoops will be calling in league pool goalkeeper Mike Gracyzk for Sunday's match.
"I think Ray (Burse) twisted his ankle and it affects all players when you have a bad ankle," Hyndman said. "You can imagine how bad it is for a goalkeeper trying to push off one leg. So, he's not real stable. It's good to see him out here running but what he needs is another week to 10 days."
Steve Hunt is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
