Mario Martinez unexpectedly named to Honduras' Gold Cup roster

Turns out those "binding" preliminary Gold Cup rosters weren't quite as iron-clad as we were led to believe. After news broke late Thursday that Mario Martinez had unexpectedly been named to Honduras' roster, we got confirmation today when the official rosters were released.

At the same time, Martinez sent out a somewhat cryptic tweet and Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid called Martinez's status "in limbo" when talking to reporters after Friday's training session.

Schmid said the Sounders are also confused Martinez is on the Gold Cup roster: "It's a little bit of a limbo, confusion state right now."

— Joshua Mayers (@joshuamayers) June 28, 2013

This is all a bit of a dramatic turn from as recently as 24 hours earlier. That was when Sounders GM Adrian Hanauer suggested that Martinez was still expected to join the team for Friday's intra-squad scrimmage, although he did say that there was a possibility the situation could stretch beyond the June 30 loan-termination date.

With the Gold Cup starting on July 7, about 10 days from now, it's looking increasingly likely that Martinez will not join the Sounders until after the tournament's conclusion, assuming he ever does. It's unclear how the surprise call-up will affect negotiations, but it hardly seems a stretch to see it as an ominous sign.