RENTON — The injury news on Wednesday was a bit of a mixed bag.
On the positive side, Hassani Dotson did not have to enter concussion protocol after being forced out of Sunday’s game with a head injury, and was a full participant in training. He will be available when the Sounders play at Real Salt Lake on Saturday.
Another positive development was Kim Kee-hee participating in about 80% of training, his most extensive runout since the start of preseason. Kim likely won’t be available for another week or two, but with the Sounders having to use a short-term loan on Antino Lopez just to have a backup centerback on the roster, it was a welcome development.
Less positively, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer revealed that Jordan Morris will likely be out four weeks after tests revealed a “Grade 1a” strain in his right quadriceps. Schmetzer said the injury may have happened in warm-ups and admitted “I probably should have kept him out of the game.”
“You always second-guess yourself,” Schmetzer added. “There were just some sensations in his leg during warm-ups. But, you trust your senior players, you have conversations with them. But hindsight is 20/20…”
Although well short of a worst-case scenario, it’s still a significant blow for a player who missed more than half of last year while dealing with several different injuries. Morris had gotten through all of preseason without issue, including consecutive 90-minute performances against Hammarby and Louisville City.
While acknowledging that Morris was clearly upset, Schmetzer also insisted that the striker was in a good place mentally.
"He's going to be fine," Schmetzer said. "He's overcome a lot of adversity in his life. He always wears his emotions on his sleeve, in training, on the field, he's always an emotional guy. But he's going to come back strong. I have 100% faith in him."
In the meantime, Schmetzer seemed secure in the belief that the Sounders' depth would be able to handle Morris' absence. Paul Rothrock, who is coming off a game in which he had a goal and an assist, will likely get the next start. There will also be more opportunities for players like Paul Arriola and Georgi Minoungou, both of whom got time off the bench against the Rapids.
"It moves everybody up one spot," Schmetzer said. "Georgi Minoungou is going to to be happy and guys that sniff opportunities need to be ready."
About those long lines...
When the Sounders announced that gates would be opening 30 minutes later than had previously been the case, they did so in part because their data showed that 85% of fans were already arriving that late and that getting into the stadium wouldn't be seriously impacted.
Instead, fans were greeted by long lines that caused many to miss the first few minutes of the match despite arriving well before.
A Sounders spokesperson acknowledged the issues but insisted they were caused by staffing issues and not the delayed gate openings. They also gave assurances that those staffing issues would be addressed before the next home game on April 12.
