RENTON — Just as the Seattle Sounders seemed to be trending toward relative health, another name has been added to the injury list. This time it’s Kalani Kossa-Rienzi, who was forced out of Saturday’s game with a sprained left ankle.
After the right back was spotted in a walking boot, though, Sounders head coach Brian Schmetzer had somewhat positive news.
“It’s not anything horrific,” Schmetzer told reporters following Tuesday’s training session. “They’re thinking 2–3 weeks.”
Perhaps because of the way injuries have continued to pile up for the Sounders, Kossa-Rienzi apparently tried to play through the injury. The 24-year-old first showed signs of distress in the 14th minute when he was tackled by Mohammed Sofa. Kossa-Rienz, though, stayed in the game until the 37th minute when it became obvious that something more serious had happened.
To account for the injury, Schmetzer brought Snyder Brunell off the bench and slid Peter Kingston to right back from the double-pivot. The thinking against Red Bull was that Schmetzer wanted to keep Alex Roldan at centerback to help deal with the aggressive press.
Facing the LA Galaxy this week — a team that is far less aggressive in the way it defends — Schmetzer could opt to move Roldan to right back and use Kim Kee-hee alongside Stuart Hawkins at centerback.
Either way, the Sounders will almost certainly be forced to use their 23rd different starting lineup in 23 league games this year.
Schmetzer knows that is far from ideal, but also is also stuck in a cycle where through form or availability it has been virtually impossible to find consistency. He admitted that if the playoffs were to start this week, he’s not even sure who would play alongside Cristian Roldan in the double-pivot, let alone every other position.
“There is a part of me that would like to have some consistency in the lineup, even in pairs like centerbacks, pivots, the attacking four,” Schmetzer said. “But right now we don’t have them, and that's just the injury side of it.”
