HARRISON, N.J. – Thierry Henry may not start, but he’ll be on the New York Red Bulls’ game-day roster for their Sunday date with the Chicago Fire (5 pm ET, ESPN2, live chat on MLSsoccer.com).
Currently dealing with a left MCL sprain, Henry has been limited to mostly individual work in training in recent days, but head coach Mike Petke cleared any uncertainty regarding the star striker’s availability for the Red Bulls’ visit to Toyota Park after their final practice session inside of Red Bull Arena on Saturday morning.
“Thierry will be with us,” Petke told MLSsoccer.com. “We’re uncertain right now as to how we want go about it. He wants to play of course, always does. I’d be surprised if he didn’t feature.”
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One player who will not feature against the Fire is forward Fabián Espíndola, who will miss a second consecutive game with a hamstring injury. The Argentine veteran was at training on Saturday, but he did mostly fitness drills with a team trainer.
“Fabián’s not going,” said Petke with a smile as he looked toward a winded Espíndola. “We’re still taking care of him, treating him like a superstar.”
With Espíndola out and Henry possibly on the bench, the Red Bulls could be missing two of their key offensive weapons at the beginning of their meeting with Chicago. Petke, however, remains confident that forward Péguy Luyindula and the rest of the team have what it takes to get the job done.
“Our mentality doesn’t change because of who’s in or who’s out,” said Petke. “We want to play the same style every week and these guys have been slowly the last couple weeks really built on it and done well, so it doesn’t matter the personnel. It matters the commitment and understanding of how we’re going to go out and play.”
