Brian Schmetzer’s availability at training on Tuesday started with an update on a couple of injuries. Jordan Morris and João Paulo both had successful surgeries, but the prognosis coming out of JP’s procedure was much more positive than expected.
JP traveled to Los Angeles to get surgery after what was believed to have been an ACL tear suffered ahead of the meeting with Austin FC. But when orthopedic surgeon Dr. Bert R. Mandelbaum went to operate, it was discovered that JP’s ACL was intact. Rather than needing reconstruction surgery, he only needed a meniscus clean-up.
"There was some meniscus damage. There was some other things, but they basically did a cleanup and so we will have JP back this season,” the Sounders head coach explained to media at training. "We're going to wait till he’s back up here,” Schmetzer said regarding a timeline for the midfielder’s return, "but I can probably tell you that it's 6 to 8 weeks maybe from the date of injury."
That update is obviously good news for JP and the Sounders. While it won’t help in the immediate term as Seattle try to find ways to reduce some of the load being carried by Cristian Roldan and Obed Vargas in the midfield, potentially having the veteran No. 6 available again not only this season but potentially before the end of August provides an obvious boost. There’s still a defensive midfielder-shaped hole in the squad even taking Snyder Brunell into account for the moment, but having João Paulo’s experience in the squad for the final stretch and playoffs is only good news.
Morris, who picked up a shoulder injury that forced him out of the game in the 16th minute against the San Jose Earthquakes on Saturday, had a successful surgery, but Schmetzer warned that it will still be a while before he’s back on the field. The focus now is on his recovery, which will involve being in a sling for an extended period of time. The expectation is still that he’ll be able to get back on the field before the end of the season, but as for his timeline it will likely be “six weeks before he can be out on the grass and kind of run around,” said Schmetzer.
Spreading minutes around
With João Paulo unavailable and the starting midfield pairing of Roldan and Vargas already having played a ton of minutes, the Sounders are looking at the schedule ahead of them to find opportunities to spread the playing time around. The Sounders have a run of five games in 16 days starting with the match against Atlanta United on Saturday, and Leagues Cup provides a clear opportunity for rotation in the middle of that stretch. When asked about rotating the midfield Schmetzer noted that "there's not really one person that’s exactly like Cristian. So that’s always challenging. So depending on the game, depending on the situation,” the Sounders could turn to any of Danny Leyva, Alex Roldan or Albert Rusnák to help out in midfield.
Schmetzer also hinted at a first-team contract for Snyder Brunell coming in the near future to help bolster that midfield group.
"You know, the Leagues Cup might be the debut of a guy like Snyder. You know, it might be a chance for, you know, one of those guys to step up and see what they have,” he said.
Finding consistency
While discussing Pedro de la Vega’s strong performance against San Jose, the idea of consistency in performances came up as Schmetzer seemed to suggest that strong work in training over the past couple of weeks and turning that into production in the game has earned de la Vega the opportunity to make a claim on a larger role. Schmetzer also pointed out that the team not only needs to have consistent individual performances, but that they need to find a consistent lineup. There has been plenty of rotation and changes due to injuries, availability and performance, particularly on the back line, but with 11 league games left on the schedule the need for a more settled XI is clear.
Although Leagues Cup will provide opportunities for young players like Brunell and Osaze de Rosario, who Schmetzer made clear will get chances during the tournament, the focus going forward is going to be on finding the best group for the Sounders.
