Coming off a bye week, it's looking like the Seattle Sounders will have close to a full squad from which to select players for Sunday's match against the Houston Dynamo.
A quick checklist:
- Clint Dempsey was a full participant in Wednesday's training session, even sticking around late for some finishing drills.
- Brad Evans was expected to be back in Seattle, will get a day off on Thursday, and then rejoin training on Friday.
- Nelson Haedo Valdez is still recovering from the calf injury and was a limited training participant, but is at least a possibility to play against the Dynamo.
- There wasn't much of an update on Marco Pappa after he left Tuesday's match early with an apparent leg injury, but Schmid did not express much concern.
- Oniel Fisher was more limited in training and will likely get another week off.
- Chad Marshall is very much a possibility to play this week, and has effectively returned to full training, barring some heading protocols.
Marshall's health may be the most encouraging bit of a news, as it was less than two weeks ago that he sprained his neck.
"I was joking with Chad, he had that previous neck problem where a car hit him from behind and this corrected him and set him straight," Sounders goalkeeper Stefan Frei told the media on Tuesday. "He looked good out there, I was surprised to see him moving the way he was. It's good for us, because he's an integral part of the team.