TUKWILA, Wash. ā Slowly but surely, the Seattle Sounders are working their way back to full strength.
Ahead of the first leg of their Western Conference Championship matchup with the Colorado Rapids, Seattleās first objective was to maintain the health of their players that have been away on national team duty for their respective World Cup qualifiers. That list included midfielder Nicolas Lodeiro (Uruguay), center back Roman Torres (Panama), forward Nelson Valdez (Paraguay) and fullback Joevin Jones (Trinidad and Tobego).
Speaking with reporters after Seattleās Thursday practice at Starfire Soccer Complex, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer said all of the above returned unscathed.
āTheyāre all good,ā Schmetzer said. āRoman made it through 90 minutes, Nelson made it through 77, Nico didnāt play much, Joevin was out [training] today. Everybodyās good.ā
Rookie forward Jordan Morris, meanwhile, returned to training at half-capacity on Wednesday as he continues to rehab the hamstring strain he suffered during Seattleās Western Conference semifinal triumph over FC Dallas. As of Thursday, the status of the 2016 MLS AT&T Rookie of the Year winner remains undetermined for Tuesday's first leg against Colorado (10 pm ET, FS1, TSN1, TSN3, RDS2).
āIf [Morris] is healthy, heās going to play,ā Schmetzer said. āWe are keeping the fire burning, trying to get him back on the field as quickly as we can.ā
The statuses of captain Brad Evans and midfielder Andreas Ivanschitz seem to have more clarity, as both returned to full training for the Sounders this week. Evans had seen his minutes limited at the end of the regular season and into the playoffs with nagging back and calf issues, while Ivanschitz has been out since Oct. 23 with a sprained knee.
Exactly what role Evans plays remains to be seen. But Schmetzer said heās looking forward to having his teamās emotional leader back in the fold.
āPablo [Mastroeni] is a good coach and Iām sure he knows our team up, down, sideways, across. I know he knows Brad and his attributes,ā Schmetzer said. āHow we utilize Brad might be something that he doesnāt expect. But weāre happy to have him back.ā
The return of Ivanschitz could also prove pivotal in its own right for Seattle.
The 33-year-old Austrian national logged three goals and eight assists in 28 appearances in 2016 and would add an element to Seattleās attack as it gets set to take on Coloradoās league-best defense.
ā[Ivanschitz] was very good [this season] and heās still really good,ā Schmetzer said. āWe just have to get him 90 minutes fit and he has to be sharp. Thatās the last little hurdle. Sometimes it takes a player a game or two to get back to where he was when he was on a good clip, so thatāll be his last challenge.ā