Sounders injury updates: Chad Marshall, Raúl Ruidíaz not ruled out for Galaxy game

That sound you heard from Sounders training was a massive sigh of relief.

Although they both remain questionable for Sunday’s game against the LA Galaxy, the Seattle Sounders don’t seem too worried about Chad Marshall or Raúl Ruidíaz missing extended time after both were pulled early from Wednesday’s match.

Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer confirmed that Marshall was not in concussion protocol after coming out at halftime and seemed to downplay the seriousness of Ruidíaz’s sprained ankle that forced him out in first half when addressing reporters on Friday.

Schmetzer on Marshall: “He’s just got a lump on the side of his head. If he can play, he’ll play.”

Schmetzer on Ruidíaz: “It’s not that bad of a sprain, he’ll be fine. He’s limited at training for today, everyday he’ll get better and we’ll see if he can make it for the game.”

That’s obviously great news for the Sounders, who had their nine-game winning streak snapped with the 1-0 loss to the Philadelphia Union and now find their playoff positioning a bit more tenuous than they’d likely prefer. The nine-game winning streak had coincided exactly with Ruidíaz’s debut, and the Sounders are 8-0-0 when he plays at least a half.

The Sounders remain four points clear of the Vancouver Whitecaps for the No. 6 spot in the Western Conference, but are three points short of a home game in the Knockout Round and six points shy of a bye into conference semifinals.

A Sounders win on Sunday would effectively eliminate the Galaxy from playoff contention, while also pushing Seattle as high as third in the Western Conference standings.