There’s been some interesting injury news coming out of Seattle over the last couple days.
First, it looks like Sounders FC leading scorer Eddie Johnson is set to play on Thursday night. Johnson – who didn’t make the 18 for the scoreless draw at Seattle in the series’ first leg on Friday due to a hamstring injury – told reporters earlier this week that he’d “for sure” play in the second leg at Rio Tinto Stadium on Thursday.
“I've come too far to not be a part of this special thing we've got going on as a team,” Johnson said on Monday. “We know how much it means to our fans and our organization in getting to the next round. It's not going to be easy. We've had our ups and downs as a team, we've overcome adversity midway through the season, and it's been good to see the team gel."
Johnson – who initially injured his hamstring in the first half of Seattle’s Oct. 28 regular season finale at LA – should provide a significant boost to the Sounders attack. The U.S. international is fast, good on the ball and great in the air, scoring eight of his 14 goals this year with his noggin.
It remains to be seen if Johnson starts on Thursday as he’s likely not at peak fitness after being out of training for 1 ½ weeks. If he doesn’t make head coach Sigi Schmid’s first XI, expect to see him come in off of the bench if the Sounders need a goal.
Johnson isn’t the only significant Seattle player dealing with an injury this week. In fact, Johnson isn’t even the most important Sounder who has a bit of a knock. That’d be midfielder/captain Mauro Rosales, who didn’t train at all on Monday and only barely on Tuesday after suffering a hamstring injury in Friday’s scoreless draw.
"He went through the early part of the warm-up for us today and then we sent him in, so it's definite progress from yesterday," Schmid said on Tuesday. "We just have to see how he feels tomorrow and keep going, progressing day by day."
Rosales, 31, was a huge player for the Sounders this year, scoring three goals and notching 13 assists – tied for third in the league – in 2012. He was also strong in Friday’s first leg, delivering both first half corner kicks that Seattle nearly scored on and hitting a total of 16 crosses in from the right flank.
Johnson was one Rosales’ favorite targets this year, with the Argentine midfielder assisting on six of Johnson’s goals. Interestingly, every single one of Rosales’ assists to Johnson came when the forward finished with his head.
Obviously, Johnson coming back into the fold for Seattle on Thursday would mean big things. But Rosales being out could be even bigger. We’ll see how it all unfolds on Thursday – Kick’s at 8 p.m. at Rio Tinto Stadium. Be there.
