Injury Round-up: Recoveries in full force as home opener looms

Injury Round-up: Recoveries in full force as home opener looms

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There's not a lot of noise coming from camp today, really. In fact, the club seems rather calm. Much like, I believe, the calm before a storm or some such.

Of course, there's plenty of non-calm elsewhere, isn't there? Seattle fans just saw their team drop 6-1 to Santos in the CONCACAF Champions League — a loss I feel a bit of sympathy for the club as a result of — and Los Angeles fans saw a 2-1 (4-3 aggregate) loss to Toronto FC. So there's the lack of calm for you — it's all been eaten up by our two top-of-the-table rivals in the Western Conference.

All told, it makes our effort seem a little more special, and you know — rooting for Toronto FC doesn't seem nearly as painful as rooting for either the Galaxy or the Sounders. Even if Toronto does go all the way, we can be the first American club to win the Champions League, so there's a bit of solace in that.

You've got to wonder why neither of the two were able to make it through. Seattle is perhaps an easy case: Santos is in good form, is scoring goals, and is in their mid-season. 

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We've had a few injuries, so perhaps it's good to take a look at those. I've just picked this preliminary information up from the MLS injury report page, which was updated March 13.

OUT

Will Johnson (R adductor strain). Will has said he'll be back to full fitness in the coming days and will need a couple weeks to get up to speed, but things are progressing as expected.

DOUBTFUL

Tony Beltran (R knee sprain). Tony picked this up in the match against Los Angeles. I doubt he sees the pitch against New York, but I reckon he'll be back in the squad for Chivas.

Javier Morales (R MCL sprain) Javier also picked this up in the match against the Galaxy. Little knocks like this one are probably to be expected after such a long layoff, but it'll be disappointing and frustrating for him. I don't expect he'll be out too long.

QUESTIONABLE

Cody Arnoux (R knee sprain) Cody played 90 minutes for the reserves on March 13 — so if this list was submitted before the match (I don't know about the timing), I don't imagine he's too far off full fitness.

Nat Borchers (L quadriceps strain) I just can't wait to see Borlave back in action. Perhaps he'll see the bench against New York. I don't expect he'll be risked with a start. Look for him to start against Chivas.

PROBABLE

Álvaro Saborío (R Condyle internal injury) What in the world is a Condyle? At any rate, it's wonderful that he's nearly off this ominous list. As with Nat Borchers, I expect we'll see him on the bench. There's no reason to risk an injury recurrence if he's not wholly and completely ready.

Jonny Steele (L knee internal injury) I don't expect we'll see him start against New York, but expect him to see the bench.

 

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Practice at the Rio Tinto is open to the public tomorrow, but do be sure to check out the details on the Real Salt Lake Facebook page. You've got to follow some instructions to get in.

And finally, make sure you get to the match early on Saturday and meet in the southeast section, where the March to the Match will begin.

Right, we're getting closer to the home opener. It's about … time.