Seattle Sounders forward Clint Dempsey will not feature in a titanic Western Conference showdown on Saturday night against the LA Galaxy (10 pm ET, NBCSN) due to a hamstring injury suffered during a closed-door workout session earlier this week.
The injury was bad enough that Dempsey – who has yet to score a goal in five games since joining the Sounders in early August – didn’t travel with the team to Los Angeles on Friday, according to Prost Amerika, the first outlet to report the news.
A Sounders spokesman confirmed the injury to MLSsoccer.com on Saturday afternoon.
It’s unclear how long Dempsey will be sidelined with the injury, but it denies him the chance to line up against longtime US national team partner Landon Donovan for the first time since returning to MLS.
Donovan has battled in injury this week as well after suffering a sprained ankle during the Galaxy’s 2-2 draw against D.C. United last weekend. Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena told media on Thursday that he expects Donovan to be available for the match.
