SEATTLE – After fielding a host of youngsters and reserves in last weekend’s scoreless draw against FC Dallas, the Seattle Sounders hope a return to normalcy can be their catalyst as they prepare for Saturday night’s matchup with the Houston Dynamo at CenturyLink Field (10 pm ET; MLS LIVE).
While Seattle may have struggled to finish chances against Dallas, they were playing without arguably their five most important players.
Missing was their dynamic forward duo of Clint Dempsey (hamstring) and Obafemi Martins (quad). Midfielder Marco Pappa, meanwhile, was also away on international duty for Guatemala, while three-time Defender of the Year Chad Marshall (neck) and midfielder Osvaldo Alonso (groin) were held out as well.
While Alonso’s status is still up in the air for Saturday – he is listed as probable on the latest injury report – the rest of that group seems in line to return against Houston. Dempsey and Martins each said they feel good to go, while Seattle head coach Sigi Schmid confirmed that Marshall has been cleared.
“We always look forward to being able to choose from the whole group,” Schmid said following Thursday’s training session at CenturyLink. “I think the young players have done well, and they’ll continue to push, and that makes our other players better also. But, yeah, [I’m] looking forward to being able to pick from a complete squad.”
Dempsey suffered a hamstring injury while training with the US national team in Zurich but said he is feeling better and that he does want to start on Saturday.
“I feel good,” Dempsey said. “I was able to get some good training sessions in this week. I’ve been back in full training for a few days now, and I’m looking forward to the weekend. …I’ll be wanting to start.”
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Martins, who tweaked his quad during Seattle’s friendly against Club Tijuana on March 24, also said he expects to go against Houston.
“I’m good,” Martins said. “A lot better now. It was good for me to rest it because I was feeling a lot of pain. Now, I’m ready to go.”
Even with the replenished depth, it is possible that the Sounders may have to survive without Alonso for at least one more week. Schmid indicated that his star midfielder is pretty much physically rehabbed from his nagging groin injury, but that he now may need time to get his fitness back before he can get on the field for Seattle.
