TUKWILA — Sounders center back Yeimar Gomez Andrade suffered a high ankle sprain and is unavailable for selection for the team’s CONCACAF Champions League match Thursday.
Yeimar, an MLS defender of the year finalist last season, suffered the injury during Seattle’s 3-2 win against the LA Galaxy on Saturday. The Colombian was subbed off in the 52nd minute and had to be helped to the sideline.
“It’s a little too soon,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said of Yeimar’s possible return.
The Rave Green traveled to Mexico after training at Starfire Sports in Tukwila on Tuesday. Seattle will play the second leg of the CCL quarterfinal series against Liga MX side Club Leon. The match is at the historic Estadio Leon in the country’s central state of Guanajuato.
Yeimar was essential in the Sounders keeping clean sheets through their opening three CCL matches. The club leads 3-0 in aggregate scoring against Leon, but Schmetzer said his staff’s strategy isn’t to emphasize defending.
Seattle could still advance to the CCL semifinals if it were to lose Thursday. As it stands, Leon must score four goals to win the series outright. Away goals are the first tiebreaker then penalty kicks.
“That would be foolish of us,” Schmetzer said of aiming for a low-scoring game to advance. The team instead focused on their counterattacking movements this week.
“We know that if we do a good job in our defending and lead to transition moments, we’re very effective,” Schmetzer said. “We also discussed, on the attacking side, how do we create chances in our possession, how do we create chances in set-piece opportunities, because we’ve been good at those.”
Injury updates
The Sounders could gain a playmaker in midfielder Nico Lodeiro.
The club captain participated in training Tuesday and Schmetzer was upbeat about his health after the session. Lodeiro missed the past three matches, including the first leg of the series against Leon, due to an adductor injury.
Sounders midfielder Josh Atencio (quad) could also be available for the CCL game. The Bellevue native hasn’t made an appearance this season due to injury.
Striker Raul Ruidiaz (hamstring) and midfielder Jimmy Medranda (hamstring) didn’t participate in full training Tuesday but both traveled to Mexico.
Seattle will remain on the road for an MLS match against Austin FC in Texas on Sunday where Ruidiaz and Medranda could return to the game-day lineup. It would be a season debut for Medranda. Ruidiaz has been out since February.
Coaching question
Leon was outscored 6-0 in its past two matches, including the 3-0 loss to Seattle last week at Lumen Field. Their coach, Ariel Holan, blamed the losses on himself and submitted his resignation after conceding three goals to Tigres UANL on Saturday.
Holan was rebuffed by the organization’s board and team president, Jesus Martinez Murguia, publicly stated his support of the Argentine coach, according to the news publication El Sol de Leon.
“He’s a talented coach. I enjoyed scouting his team,” Schmetzer said. “I wish him nothing but the best and whatever decisions they make as a club as an organization is out of my control.”
Leon was founded in 1944 and has won 24 championships across all competitions, including defeating Seattle for the Leagues Cup title last year. The Sounders are expecting a lively crowd for the CCL game Thursday.
“It’s external factors that we shouldn’t rely on or think about,” Sounders fullback Alex Roldan said of Holan’s resignation and fans’ ire at the team’s latest results. “We should go into that game knowing that we need to go perform as a team, especially after the win against the Galaxy. We have confidence within the group to go over there and play a good game.”
Holding court
Seattle’s trip to Mexico will keep Roldan and his brother Cristian from attending the unveiling of their namesake basketball/futsal court on Thursday. The outdoor play area was constructed in partnership with U.S. Soccer Foundation’s mini-pitches initiative to introduce the game to youths in a safe environment.
The Roldan Family court is in their native Pico Rivera, Calif. neighborhood.
“When we were growing up, we didn’t have that many places to play soccer,” said Alex, whose eldest brother Cesar is the head athletic director for the Galaxy. “There were a bunch of baseball fields and basketball courts (so) we’re proud to give back to our community and have kids play there.”
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