The New York Red Bulls are going to be a bit shorthanded this weekend.
In addition to the news that Thierry Henry and Jamison Olave will likely miss Sunday’s tilt with the Seattle Sounders (9 pm ET; ESPN), forward Bradley Wright-Phillips has also been ruled out because of the right hamstring strain he suffered in this past weekend’s 1-0 win over FC Dallas.
Wright-Phillips, who has started in every match in the Red Bulls’ current four-game winning streak, is undergoing an MRI to determine the severity of the knock. Still, New York head coach Mike Petke sounded certain in saying that the Englishman would be unavailable against the Sounders.
“It would be a miracle if he was available this week,” Petke told reporters on a conference call on Tuesday afternoon. “You saw he was in full stride and the way he went down. I know he’ll be out this weekend, but beyond that I don’t want to speculate and put numbers down. But I don’t think this is a one week out type of thing.”
While it might seem like all bad news in Red Bulls land, it is not. Petke implied that midfielders Tim Cahill and Lloyd Sam are good to go for Sunday’s game at CenturyLink Field. Sam has missed the last two matches because of a groin issue while Cahill has been recovering from various niggling knocks and the ankle injury he recently returned from.
“Tim’s okay,” said Petke. “Obviously, Tim was a bit tired towards the end in that game [against FC Dallas]. But I think that he’s good, he’s ready to go, he’s ready to continue practice tomorrow and he’s getting over his aches and pains.
- Get more New York Red Bulls news at NewYorkRedBulls.com
“Lloyd was slated to pretty much potentially start against Dallas this weekend and at the last minute he just didn’t feel right,” added Petke. “You can’t force the player out if he’s not feeling right. He wasn’t 100 percent in his mind and he didn’t feel comfortable or confident and I give him credit for relaying that. … Unless something crazy has happened in the last day or so, he’ll be again full on [in practice] this week and hopefully 100 percent healthy and available to go vs. Seattle.”
Roy Miller will not be, however, as he continues to nurse the Achilles injury he sustained last month. Miller has missed New York’s last four games, but Petke is hopeful that the Costa Rican left back can get back to running by the end of the week.
