Schmid coy on injury updates as Sounders travel to Dallas

In what was likely a combination of haste and carefully crafted deception, Seattle Sounders coach Sigi Schmid told the media at today's training that the trio of Leo Gonzalez, Osvaldo Alonso, and Brad Evans were "making progress" when asked if the players were making the trip to Dallas. All three players were seen jogging and doing light training today, but none participated in full practice with the rest of the squad.

For what it's worth, when asked about Dempsey and Evans not being called up by Jurgen Klinsmann for next week's World Cup qualifiers, Schmid replied that Evans wasn't called up because "he's hurt right now." Schmid also believes that Dempsey wasn't called up for this round of qualifying because Klinsmann might be wanting to "go with a younger group up front."

While the MLS Cup Playoffs have been specifically scheduled to avoid the international dates, it's also possible that Dempsey or someone at the Sounders requested that the player not be called up so as to avoid injuries should the club make it to the Western Conference finals. Schmid also confirmed the call-ups of Marco Pappa and Obafemi Martins to Guatemala and Nigeria respectively, so he'll be hoping for the safe return of both if the Sounders progress.

There was no indication of team selection otherwise, with the rest of the squad participating in training today before their flight to Dallas. Schmid had some positive things to say about a number of younger players like Aaron Kovar: "He's progressed really well. He had some really good games in the Champions League, and as we got healthy and added some players...his growth continued to go but his time on the field was difficult to obtain." Schmid was also positive about Darwin Jones and Victor Mansaray, saying that having them play with S2 was helpful and important this year and that he thinks they'll continue to improve in the future.