Sounders notebook: Clint Dempsey cleared to return, Brad Evans game-time decision vs LA
Jul 8, 2016, 4:57 PM
(AP)
Heading into Saturday’s match against the LA Galaxy, Sounders head coach Sigi Schmid said on Friday that captain Brad Evans’ availability would be a game-time decision. Evans was a late scratch last weekend against Toronto FC after suffering a calf strain in training. Clint Dempsey, on the other hand, has been cleared to play after getting an extra week of rest after returning from international duty with the United States for the Copa America.
Additionally, defender Roman Torres, who has been out since last season after tearing his ACL and undergoing surgery in the fall, is set to join full training for the first time since his injury in the coming weeks. Schmid declined to give an exact timeline for Torres’ return, but videos that the player has posted to social media seem to indicate that he’s pretty close to full health. I think we’ll see him back on the pitch by the end of July.
Notes
• The club have officially extended the contracts of Herculez Gomez and Zach Scott through the end of the 2016 season. Gomez came to Seattle in the offseason, and his original contract only went through June 30. Zach Scott, the club’s longest-serving member, was thought to be ready to retire before the season, but it looks like Mr. Sounder will be with the club for at least a few more months.
• Seattle Sounders 2 picked up a road draw against St. Louis FC on Wednesday, thanks to a goal from Emir Alihodzic after fine work from Andy Craven. Poor defense allowed St. Louis to equalize late in the match, turning what should have been three points for S2 into just one. S2 currently sits in 14th place in USL’s Western Conference.
Spenser Davis also covers the Sounders for Sounder at Heart.