COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – While the rest of his teammates practiced on Friday morning, Colorado Rapids midfielder Vicente Sánchez sat on a golf cart near the field, icing his injured right shoulder.
The veteran Uruguayan attacker is doubtful for Sunday’s regular-season finale in Vancouver (8 pm ET; MLS Live) with the shoulder injury he suffered after a collision with a defender in the first half of Colorado’s 3-2 win over the Vancouver Whitecaps last weekend.
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“It hurts,” Sánchez told reporters after training on Friday. “It’s gotten better since the weekend, and the trainers and the doctors are going to tell me and the team what’s best.”
The 33-year-old has been a key cog since signing from his native Uruguay in August, providing a goal and four assists while supplying the Rapids with creativity and slick passing along with veteran leadership since his midseason arrival. Head coach Oscar Pareja said on Friday that Sánchez will travel to Vancouver, but he’s far from a guarantee to play.
Pareja also noted that rookie midfielder Dillon Powers, who has been recovering from a concussion, will also travel and is closer to playing than Sánchez.
“They are in the traveling roster, so we will take these two days to keep evaluating the possibility [of them] playing or not,” Pareja said. “But they’re going to be traveling.”
If Sánchez can’t play, fellow midfielders Nick LaBrocca, Martín Rivero or Atiba Harris could take his place in the lineup. Depending on the weekend’s results, the Rapids can finish anywhere from second to sixth in the Western Conference.
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
