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It was almost exactly six months ago that Jordan Morris underwent surgery to repair his torn ACL that he suffered during a CONCACAF Champions League match. That puts him on the front end of what is considered the typical recovery timeline.
Although the Seattle Sounders effectively ruled him out for the year back in March, Morris’ presence at training has become a somewhat regular occurrence. He hasn’t been participating in heavy drills, but he has been running laps and even doing ball work. Just last week, he put out a video that detailed some of the progress he’s made.
Just how far away he remains is still not known, but head coach Brian Schmetzer at least left the door open for a return in time for the MLS Cup playoffs.
“He’s out here, still,” Schmetzer told reporters following Thursday’s session. “So he’s doing all the extra work and I wouldn’t count the kid out, I just wouldn’t.
“He hasn’t campaigned me, but we’ve discussed it. So it’s a goal, it’s a target, but it hasn’t quite been a campaign yet.”
Despite the progress, no one is interested in pushing Morris to return any faster than his body or the team physicians suggest.
“I know he doesn’t want to rush into it,” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “I wouldn’t let him, if he didn’t feel ready. Jordan is a competitor and I know he wants to be on the field as bad as anybody, but for his sake I think it’s best that he doesn’t rush it. I think he has a good support system and mentally he’s feeling a lot better now that he’s jogging around the field and kicking the ball a little bit.”
As improved as the Sounders’ offense has been during their current eight-game winning streak, it’s not hard to imagine how a player with Morris’ speed might be a benefit. It’s sometimes easy to forget after various injuries limited his effectiveness last season, but Morris enjoyed one of the greatest seasons ever by an American rookie when he scored 14 goals in 2016.
“When he’s ready, we’ll get him back out there,” Schmetzer said. “Each player who has a significant injury, they come back at different times, different speeds. But the training staff is doing a very good job of trying to get him ready. Once they’ve done their job we’ll get him back out there.”