RENTON — Going into Week 3 of the MLS season, the Seattle Sounders’ schedule is about to get a bit more congested.
Starting with Saturday’s game at St. Louis City, the Sounders will play five matches over the course of 16 days while also traveling about 7,000 miles. Even in an ideal scenario, the Sounders’ depth would be tested.
Unfortunately, this is not an ideal scenario. In addition to the Sounders still dealing with injuries to several centerbacks, they are also looking a bit thin at winger, where Pedro de la Vega (knee) and Jordan Morris (quad) are out, while Georgi Minoungou (foot) and Paul Rothrock (ankle) are nursing injuries.
That could open the door for Paul Arriola, who is still working his way back from the ACL injury he suffered almost exactly a year ago. Arriola has been in full training for about a month and has played a total of 11 minutes in the Sounders’ first two games of the season, but was getting reps with what could be the starters in Wednesday’s training session.
Asked if he feels physically ready to start, Arriola said “absolutely.”
“I think the work for me has been more on the training ground, during the week, trying to prepare my body and trying to continue to get the rhythm so that when I get the opportunity for more minutes I’m ready to go,” Arriola said on Wednesday. “I’m hungry, I’m anxious. I’ve had some good conversations with our coach this week and we’re on the same page. I’m itching to get in and try to help the team.”
Now in his 10th MLS season, Arriola has been a starter virtually whenever healthy. As recently as the 2022 World Cup cycle, he had even established himself as a regular with the United States national team. In his first season with the Sounders last year, he seemed to have grabbed the starting left wingback role before his knee injury sidelined him.
Arriola knows he still has a ways to go before he’s back to that point, but the only way to get there will be getting reps on the field.
“The only way to replicate a game is to be part of it,” Arriola said. “At some point when I get thrown in, I’m going to have to deal with that and make the most of it fitness-wise and be mentally locked in.
“Obviously, right now we have a few injuries and that leads to different opportunities. If I’m not healthy, if I’m not prepared, I’m not going to get a chance. But they’ve done a great job with that.”
Injury updates
- Georgi Minoungou was a limited participant in training on Wednesday, a day after Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer revealed that he has a small fracture in his foot. Minoungou’s availability will apparently be determined by his pain tolerance.
- Paul Rothrock, meanwhile, missed a second straight day of training after having his injured right ankle examined. It was not yet clear if he would be available for Saturday’s game.
