Arnoux fitness a concern in injury-spotted RSL career

Ah, midweek, we meet again. This time, however, there's no match — perhaps this will give the other clubs a chance to catch up in games played or some such. Why, exactly, is the schedule so — how shall I put it — wonky? I do get the unbalanced part of it all, but that's the only part I really get.

At any rate, I really won't get it when we have a big break in May, as it means no home match for a bit too long — especially considering I'll be missing this next home match, owing to prior commitments. I know, I know, few things outstrip the club in importance, but it must be done. Besides, it means you can tweet along with me. That's fun, right?

So, there's really not a great deal of news coming around right now, which I suppose is to be expected. The MLS Injury List was released yesterday, as usual, and it's only holding two of our players hostage: Cody Arnoux and Nico Muñiz. I know little to nothing about the intricacies of injury, so I won't speak too much about it, but what a blow for Mr. Arnoux to be out with injury again. We picked him up at the beginning of last season and have seen him on the pitch for less than an entire match worth of minutes.

You're forced to wonder, at this point, how good the kid must be. He's only recently turned 24, but he's made two appearances for the club since signing and seven appearances for the pre-MLS Whitecaps. Our back room staff is kind, I'm sure, but they're not so kind as to keep a player they feel isn't worth it — so we'll see what this means for the player going forward. I don't doubt his quality, and I'm hopeful that we will get to see him on the pitch sometime soon.

Still, it's not at all uncommon to see injuries crop up after long periods out, and the management will be well aware of this, so perhaps there is hope yet. At any rate, both he and Nico are listed as doubtful, which seems a definite improvement from the ominous "OUT," so there's that, at least. He was expected, at the beginning of the campaign, to feature from the bench and contribute "major minutes" — but muscular issues have not helped him along at all. Every player goes through rough patches, though, and sticking by him and showing confidence in his ability to recover will be important.

As for Nico Muñiz: He's young yet, but I'd love to see him on the pitch, too. He scored an absolute screamer of a goal in pre-season, and I'm hopeful that he can find his feet in the league and really make a mark as a homegrown player. We are, I think, one to five years away (a wide range, I know) from having more than two homegrown players in the squad, but we're not far off at all. This crop of players seems a bit special, but we'll see how far that goes.

At any rate, here's a clip of Nico Muñiz scoring during a reserves match. This one's quite good, too!

For good measure, here's a clip of Cody Arnoux scoring for the Whitecaps:

Right, that's all I have for you today. 'Til tomorrow, folks.