RENTON — When both Alex Roldan and Yeimar Gomez Andrade were forced out of Saturday’s game in the first 15 minutes, there was an overwhelming sense that the Seattle Sounders simply couldn’t catch a break on the injury front this year. Three days later, the situation doesn’t seem quite as bad.
Roldan, at least, shouldn’t miss too much time and might be back as soon as Saturday’s match against the Portland Timbers.
Initially believed to be an adductor injury that could take weeks to heal, Roldan actually just “tweaked” his hip, according to Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer.
“It was more of an awkward twisting,” Schmetzer said.
The news was not as positive for Yeimar, who left the match just a few minutes after Roldan with a hamstring strain. Schmetzer estimated that Yeimar would likely be out four weeks, which would peg his return right around the start of the MLS Playoffs.
“His recovery has always been pretty good,” Schmetzer said. “But we’ll obviously take it easy because he had one at the end of last year in the playoffs and then this year and now again. We’ll have to make sure that he’s right before we put him back in.”
Kalani Kossa-Rienzi replaced Roldan and Kim Kee-hee replaced Yeimar against the Whitecaps. Both are likely to reprise those roles against the Timbers.
Kossa-Rienzi has been one of the pleasant surprises in his first full MLS campaign, logging more than 1,500 minutes across all competitions and scoring three goals in league play.
Schmetzer acknowledged that Kossa-Rienzi has enjoyed some impressive highs — especially with his goal-scoring — but also noted that he seems to have plateaued a bit in recent weeks.
“He’s got to bring it back up,” Schmetzer said. “He’s a really handy player to have because he’s great in (the locker room). He works his butt off on the grass, he’s a coach’s dream.”
Kim, too, has been a somewhat surprising contributor this year. Signed on the veteran minimum, Kim has 20 appearances. The Sounders are 6-1-2 in his starts.
“He’s a solid, veteran, experienced guy,” Schmetzer said. “We’re lucky to have him.”
Pedro de la Vega looks sharp
Although he hasn’t played since winning the Best Player Award at the Leagues Cup, Pedro de la Vega has been a full training participant for at least the last two weeks while dealing with knee tendonitis. Once again on Tuesday, de la Vega was one of the standout players in training, bagging several goals in short-sided games.
Schmetzer said de la Vega’s lack of playing time has been more tactical than anything else, saying he planned to get the midfielder into the Whitecaps game but his hands were tied after being forced to use early subs on Roldan and Yeimar.
“He’ll see the field,” Schmetzer said about the plan for Saturday’s game. “He’s managing the pain and he looks good.
“When he steps back on the field, he’ll be happy and I’m sure that will show in his play.”
‘Must-win’ games
On paper, the Sounders don’t have much to play for over the final three weeks of the regular season. They have already clinched a playoff spot and realistically, they are going to finish somewhere between fifth and seventh almost no matter what they do.
Paul Rothrock doesn’t see it quite so simply.
“I think they’re all must-win games,” Rothrock said.
From a practical perspective, Rothrock believes there’s a significant difference between finishing fifth and seventh, as it not only affects the quality of the opponent but also the prospects of hosting in case of upsets.
But these games also have an emotional component, none bigger than Saturday’s against the Timbers, who haven’t lost to the Sounders in the regular season at Lumen Field since 2017.
“This is definitely a primetime game,” Rothrock said. “I think we’re all excited for it.”
