BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. — Chicago Fire captain Logan Pause might miss Wednesday's home match against Real Salt Lake (8:30 p.m. ET; watch LIVE online).
The defensive midfielder picked up what he called “some bumps and bruises” in Saturday’s game at New England and didn’t train Tuesday, putting his status for the match in jeopardy.
“With our schedule and the amount of games we’ve got coming up, I just need a few more days than what I have,” Pause told MLSsoccer.com. “I still have more than 24 hours and we’ll kind of sit down and decide what that looks like. We’ve got a more than a capable group if I’m not available. Guys will be ready and eager to step in.”
Fire interim head coach Frank Klopas wouldn’t name names, but it’s safe to assume that midfielder Daniel Paladini will step into the lineup if Pause misses the match.
Paladini, who trained with the first team for the majority of practice Wednesday, filled in for Pause when he was injured earlier this season.
Pappa back in town
Guatemalan midfielder Marco Pappa will be available for selection on Wednesday, five days after Mexico eliminated him and his teammates from the CONCACAF Gold Cup with a 2-1 quarterfinal victory at New Meadowlands Stadium.
Klopas said he didn’t know whether or not Pappa will start against RSL.
“I talked to Marco today to assess how he was,” Klopas told MLSsoccer.com. “He’s a good player and we've got to see how the game goes and how we can use him.”
Pappa, who appeared in three of Guatemala’s four matches and played all 90 minutes on Saturday, missed four MLS matches while on international duty. Chicago went 1-0-3 without him.
Mikulic healthy
Center back Josip Mikulic will be ready to play on Wednesday night. Mikulic fractured his left clavicle on April 30 at Colorado and hasn’t appeared in a match since.
The Croatian defender resumed full training early last week but was left off the game day roster for Saturday’s match at New England because of concerns about his fitness level.
“He’s available and he’s healthy, which is a good thing,” Klopas said. “It’s good to see some of the guys getting healthy.”
Mikulic will likely back up starting center backs Cory Gibbs and Yamith Cuesta on Wednesday night.
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. E-mail him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal
