Jordan Morris happy to finally get back on the field

SEATTLE — Getting on the field has been a challenge for Jordan Morris this season. The injury he suffered on April 26 against the Colorado Rapids was a re-aggravation of the same injury he suffered that knocked him out for about six weeks earlier in the year. Morris had hoped to return in time for the Club World Cup, only to suffer another re-aggravation about a week before.

All told, he’s been limited to just five MLS appearances and four more in other competitions, missing nearly two-thirds of the Sounders’ games this season.

Watching the Sounders play without him in the first two Club World Cup games was especially harsh, made even worse by the nagging sense that he might have been able to make a difference.

Finally, in the third game, head coach Brian Schmetzer called him over with about 15 minutes left in regulation. Morris was going to get his shot.

As he took off his warmups and got ready to enter the match, there was a stoppage of play as Nouhou went down with a possible injury. While the coaches assessed whether Nouhou could continue, Morris waited on the sideline as play resumed.

Finally, it was determined that Nouhou could continue and that Morris would replace Obed Vargas. All he needed was a stoppage of play to get in.

Even in his return, getting on the field proved difficult. It wasn’t until the 87th minute that Morris was allowed to enter the game.

“I just was hoping the ball would go out of bounds before the game ended,” Morris joked when asked what was going through his mind during the nearly 10 minutes he waited to enter the match.

Once in, Morris did his best to make an impact. Almost immediately after coming on, he got the ball near the top of the penalty area, beat one defender and fired off a left-footed shot that forced a sliding block by a second defender.

The crowd erupted in appreciation, not so much because it was the Sounders' best scoring chance of the second half, but it seemed to signify that Morris was looking like himself.

"I was just trying to make a difference," Morris said. "But really I just wanted to get on and experience playing in the Club World Cup. I'm appreciative of the coaches for letting me experience that."

This season started with lots of promise. In the offseason, news broke that Morris had triggered a clause in his contract that made him a Designated Player. Coming off a strong preseason, Morris hit the ground running with a brace in the regular-season opener. A couple games later, he followed that up with a goal off the bench that made him the Sounders' all-time leading scorer.

Morris was enjoying one of his best-ever starts, while also building off a career year in which he scored 18 goals and, perhaps most impressively, logged nearly 3,700 across all competitions. In addition to the three goals in five MLS appearances this year, Morris was also the Sounders' only player who had appeared in all seven matches that included four Concacaf Champions Cup matches.

Morris was proving he could be productive and durable. Until he wasn't. In the second leg against Cruz Azul, Morris pulled up while making a run down the right wing. An injury he thought was well in his past – he had last dealt with hamstring issues in 2019 – returned.

"It's been a long few months, long few weeks, watching this tournament, wanting to be out there so bad," Morris said. "One of the toughest parts of my career so far is having to stay and watch these games and not be able to participate."

Like Morris’ season to date, the Club World Cup didn't exactly go as well as the Sounders dreamed. Drawn into what most agree was the toughest group, the Sounders lost all three games. But they were competitive, never trailing by more than two goals at any point in the tournament and going into halftime down just one goal in each, while facing the reigning Copa Libertadores winners, the reigning UEFA Champions League winners and another top 20 team in the world.

"I'm really proud of the group," Morris said. "We showcased a lot and I'm looking forward ot what's coming next."