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Seattle Sounders forward Eddie Johnson is expected to be available for Wednesday's CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal against Santos Laguna and could even start. Johnson participated fully in training on Sunday, his most extensive action since he left a preseason game early a couple weeks ago with a strained hamstring.
"We wanted him to go and practice today and now we'll see how he feels tomorrow," Sounders coach Sigi Schmid said. "That's the key. We wanted him full in, he's still building his fitness. Whether he'll start on Wednesday, whether his hamstring is healthy or not, is still a 50/50 proposition. Certainly, he got through everything today."
Being as Johnson has not seen anything close to a live game since that match against Florida Gulf Coast on Feb. 19, it would seem unlikely that the Sounders would start him in one of the most important matches in team history. The more likely scenario would seem to involve David Estrada starting and Johnson coming in as a sub. Estrada has started each of the past four preseason games and has scored three goals.