RENTON — Amidst a sea of seemingly bad injury news, the Seattle Sounders seemed to finally have some glimmer of positivity — albeit mixed with some less positive news — on Thursday.
Not only was Kim Kee-hee able to get through a full training session for a second consecutive day — at least putting him in contention to play in the Sounders’ Club World Cup opener against Botafogo on Sunday — but head coach Brian Schmetzer also suggested that Jordan Morris might be able to return relatively soon as well.
“Jordan is getting better, getting closer,” Schmetzer said, while also ruling out the forward for the Botafogo match. “His was a minor blip on the radar screen.”
Morris had been on pace to return for last Sunday’s game against the Vancouver Whitecaps but then suffered a setback in training a couple days before the match. Morris has three goals in less than 300 MLS minutes, but has missed 13 of 18 matches with a hamstring injury.
The news was not as positive for Yeimar Gomez Andrade, who the Sounders had been hoping was close to returning after he injured his hamstring on May 24. But just as Yeimar was going through the final stages of his rehabilitation, he suffered a calf injury that Schmetzer said should delay his return for another 3-4 weeks.
Kim’s return would help mitigate that setback. As things currently stand, the Sounders are perilously thin on defense with Jackson Ragen and Jon Bell the only two healthy and available natural centerbacks.
With Kim on the field, the Sounders have outscored opponents 13-7. When he’s not on the field, the Sounders have been outscored 18-12.
Familiar but different
In a sense, João Paulo has an intimate knowledge of Botafogo. The Brazilian midfielder played three seasons at the Rio de Janeiro-based club prior to joining the Sounders in 2020. He says he has lots of fond memories from his time, and forged a positive relationship with fans.
But the team he played for and the one the Sounders will face are quite different.
When João Paulo was there, Botafogo had only recently been promoted from the second division and they were later relegated back there the season after he left. They were a club that was struggling just to stay viable.
When American businessman John Textor bought them in 2022, though, he injected new life.
Just two years after Textor bought Botafogo, they won their first-ever Copa Libertadores and their first Serie A title in nearly 30 years.
“When I was there, the club was having a really hard time financially,” João Paulo said. “When you don’t have money to run the soccer, it’s hard to build something good. Now they have a lot of money.”
Watching grass grow
The Sounders will not have a chance to train on the temporary grass that has been installed at Lumen Field, but they have been watching it closely. There is apparently a live cam on the field that has allowed Sounders coaches to see how it has looked during the installation process, and Schmetzer says he’s taken a keen interest.
“I make sure the video guys show me film of it every day,” Schmetzer said, adding that he’s planning to walk the field on Saturday. “It looks really nice."
Temporary grass has been installed multiple times at Lumen Field over the years, but it has mostly gotten mixed reviews. This time promises to be a bit different.
Unlike previous installs, this one had two full weeks to settle it, which allowed the seems to mostly grow together. While it won’t be as good as the grass pitch that gets installed for next summer’s Men’s World Cup, it should at least be better than previous temporary pitches.
“It is what it is, control the controllables, but the field looks really, really good,” Schmetzer said.
