FRISCO, Texas – As the remnants of Tropical Storm Germine made their way through the Dallas-Fort Worth area beginning on Tuesday, FC Dallas head coach Schellas Hyndman decided to move Wednesday’s early-morning training session indoors.
The bulk of Wednesday’s session was spent in six-on-six mini indoor games where the roster was broken into four different teams. Several players did not participate, including Jackson Gonçalves, George John and Zach Loyd.
Jackson and Loyd were held out as a precautionary measure after playing the full 90 in Saturday’s 1-0 win over Toronto FC.
“[We] kept Jackson and Zach Loyd out just because of the surface and the physical play,” Hyndman said. "They’re both banged up a little bit and I don’t want to put them in an environment that may endanger them."
As for John, he worked on the side and continues to recover from a strained hamstring suffered in the second half of Saturday’s win over Toronto FC. He is listed as probable for this weekend’s trip to San Jose.
McCarty, Rodríguez Back in Training
Two familiar faces were back in training on Wednesday: midfielder Dax McCarty and forward Milton Rodriguez. It was McCarty’s first practice since straining a right quadriceps muscle in July, while Rodríguez sustained a shoulder injury sustained in a scoreless draw at Columbus two weeks ago.
[inline_node:317562]“Dax, he’s improving quite well,” Hyndman said. “This is the first training Dax has been in with us since he’s been hurt. It’s good to see him in here but this is a controlled environment.
"There’s not a lot of long range shooting or passing, which is what’s been bothering him. It hasn’t been fitness. It’s been striking the ball. I think we’ll monitor him but it’s good to have him out at practice.”
Hyndman said Rodríguez is probable for this weekend’s trip to Buck Shaw Stadium.
“Milton looks fine,” Hyndman said. “This was one of those trainings he didn’t have to do. He said he was fine. I think he’s getting to the point that he’s going to look probable.”
But it still might be some time before FCD know when they might see injured center back Ugo Ihemelu back in practice. He has been out since suffering a concussion on Aug 8.
“Ugo will be going for another compact test to see how he is,” Hyndman said.
Should John not be able to start at center back this weekend, the FCD manager says there are three possibilities to replace him in the first 11: Daniel Hernandez, Eric Alexander and Jackson.
