RENTON – Coming off an MLS Team of the Week performance and having started twice in the past week, Yeimar Gomez Andrade’s injury-marred season finally seemed to be back on the right track. Instead, that may prove to be the last time he plays for the Seattle Sounders.
Yeimar was forced to leave Thursday’s training session early with a hamstring strain, and a day later it was unclear how long it may be until he’s ready to play again. Yeimar will be out of contract at the end of the season.
Although Sounders head coach Brian Schemtzer wasn’t quite ready to rule out Yeimar for the season, the reality is that there are just four games – played over the course of two weeks – remaining in the regular season. Even if the Sounders went on an extended playoff run, Yeimar would likely need a speedy recovery to be available again this year.
“I’m going to wait till we get the results of the MRI,” Schmetzer said when asked about the recovery timeline. “It depends on how severe it is. He walked off the field on his own power. I don’t think it’s as bad as his last one, but it’s the other leg again. There’s some challenges there.”
This is just the latest of what has seemed like a never-ending series of setbacks for Yeimar. The 34-year-old has historically been not only durable, but had also recovered from injuries relatively quickly. Coming into this season, he had played at least 2,500 minutes across all competitions for five straight seasons and had established himself as one of the league’s top centerbacks.
But Yeimar came out of the Sounders’ third match of the season with right hamstring injury. The Sounders originally hoped he would be back within two months, but his timeline was eventually pushed back. Yeimar seemed to be on track to return after the World Cup break but then suffered a calf injury. He later suffered another setback that delayed his return until Sept. 26, when he came off the bench to help secure a win Minnesota United. In all, he ended up being out more than six months and missing 26 games across all competitions. He’s made just seven appearances and logged less than 350 minutes this year.
Since returning, though, Yeimar has looked much like his old self. He has been dominant in the air, winning most of his duels and looking like the stalwart presence that had previously made him a Defender of the Year finalist and a MLS Best XI selection.
The good news is that Jackson Ragen (illness), Stuart Hawkins (muscle) and Kim Kee-hee (calf) were all full participants in training this week, which gives Schmetzer some options. Alex Roldan, who was limited earlier in the week, is also expected to be available.
“We’ve got enough to cover,” Schmetzer said.
Desperate opponent
For the second time this year, the Sounders will face San Diego FC while they are in the midst of an eight-game winless run. The Sounders played San Diego to a 1–1 tie on May 9.
San Diego never fully recovered from that early dip in form and are now five points out of the playoffs with four games left to play. A loss could effectively end their season.
"We’ve messaged that already," Schmetzer said. "The players are aware of it. They look at the standings themselves. They understand what this game is all about."
