UPDATE: Zakuani did not play.
It's lining up to be an interesting night in Seattle. Not only are the Seattle Sounders expecting a season-high crowd of close to 46,000, but they could bear witness to the return of Steve Zakuani. The midfielder is on the gameday 18 for the first time since suffering a horrific broken leg on April 22, 2011.
Zakuani has been making steady progress toward a return for at least several months, with his most significant step forward coming on June 1 when he started and played 45 minutes in a reserve league game as a forward. Zakuani has been essentially training at full speed ever since.
Prior to his injury, Zakuani was shaping up as one of the most explosive wide midfielder in MLS. He had already scored two goals and had two assists in the first six games of 2011 and was coming off a 10-goal, six-assist season in 2010.
The Sounders could certainly use the boost. They are currently mired in a five-match winless run in which they've collected just two points. They also are coming off a 4-1 thrashing at the hands of the Montreal Impact.
This report was originally published at SBNation.com. For the latest on tonight's game, be sure to check out the Gamethread.