Photo by ISIPhotos.com

BY ADAM SERRANO

Landon Donovan looks fresh and rested and ready to face off against the Vancouver Whitecaps this weekend. 

The U.S. star did not take part in recent friendlies for the LA Galaxy against Manchester City last Sunday and MLS All-Stars on Wednesday against Manchester United due to a right calf strain.While Donovan missed the friendly matches, he participated in a camp for amputees in Ohio that is run by the brother of his ex-wife Bianca Kaljich.

Although Donovan has missed a week's action, he shined during practice on Thursday, scoring several goals from distance and appearing fully fit and ready to face Vancouver this weekend. 

"As much as I wanted to play against Man City and Man United, you have to be responsible and this team depends on me to be here and make plays and lead," said Donovan. "If I had gone to New York then I would have had no chance to get proper treatment and I would have had no chance to train and get ready for Saturday. So we had to take the right steps and hopefully it's the right call." 

More News From Around the Western Conference after the jump:

CHIVAS USA

Chivas USA head coach Robin Fraser admitted that the Rojiblancos are keeping tabs on Honduran winger Mario Martinez on Thursday. The Honduran winger who represented Los Catrachos during the Beijing Olympics was rumored to be signing with the club earlier in the week by Honduran newspaper Diez.

While Martinez is on the radar, the Goats boss admitted that the club has no interest in former Chivas Guadalajara captain Ramon Morales, who announced that he was interested in coming to MLS on Tuesday. 

COLORADO RAPIDS

The defending MLS Cup champion Colorado Rapids can start to prepare for their first match in the CONCACAF Champions League on August 17th. The Rapids will host the winner of the Isidro Metapán (SLV) and Puerto Rico Islanders (PUR) series at Dick's Sporting Good's Park before taking on Real Espana of Honduras in San Pedro Sula on August 23rd.

The third opponent that the Rapids will face also remains a question as Santos Laguna (Mexico) and CD Olimpia (Honduras) are currently locked in a play-in match.

FC DALLAS

FCD cut ties with Colombian forward Milton Rodriguez and former U.S. youth international Peri Marosevic on Thursday. Rodriguez had scored just one goal and earned five assists after coming back from an injury during the opening round playoff series with Real Salt Lake last year. 

The former U.S. Youth International Marosevic was immediately signed by Toronto FC after being released by FC Dallas.

PORTLAND TIMBERS

Jack Jewsbury has spent a long time in MLS, but he'll never forget his night against Manchester United. 

Jewsbury came on in the 62nd minute and was unlucky not to create a chance for the All-Stars during their disappointing 4-0 loss to the English giants. Following the match, Jewsbury told The Oregonian that he will always remember All-Star experience. 

"The activities we had, in terms of "MLS Works," helping with the playground, to meeting (New York) Mayor (Michael) Bloomberg and to cap it all off by playing Man U, was something I'll never forget," Jewsbury said. "It was an honor to be a part of it all." 

REAL SALT LAKE

Real Salt Lake are going back to Vancouver. 

The RSL match against the Whitecaps has been rescheduled and will take place on Thursday, October 6th at B.C. Place, the Whitecaps new stadium. The match comes after the league postponed their match with the Whitecaps due to poor field conditions on July 16th. 

The placement of the match does RSL no favors as it takes place inbetween a trip to Los Angeles on October 1st, to face the league leading Galaxy and a Mountain Cup match against the Colorado Rapids on October 14th at Dick's Sporting Good's Park. 

SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES

The San Jose Earthquakes understand that if they're going to advance to the playoffs for the second year in a row, they're going to need to keep their cool. 

This is something that goalkeeper Jon Busch admits that he did not do during the Quakes disappointing 4-0 loss to Real Salt Lake last Saturday. Busch flashed an obsecne gesture at the RSL bench after Alvaro Saborio was able to get Earthquakes defender Bobby Burling sent off despite minimal contact. In a recent interview with MLSsoccer.com, Busch admits, who his actions were directed towards.

“It was for Saborío,” Busch admitted. “For cheating. Plain and simple. I’m not going to run from it. It was for him. Was it right? No. Was it one of those situations in a split-second that you get heated, you get frustrated? Yeah.”

SEATTLE SOUNDERS

After a rough week that included a shelling against Manchester United and a difficult 1-0 defeat to San Francisco of Panama, Sigi Schmid told the Seattle Times, where the Sounders currently stand. The Sounders remain four points back of the LA Galaxy in third place in the Western Confrence and are in striking distance in their Champions League tie. 

"In the grand scheme of things of wanting to play well into November, so in that grand scheme of things it was important for us to give them some time off right now because we felt that was important for their regeneration over the long haul," said Schmid. "We feel confident we will find that sharpness very soon and very quickly and that we did the right thing for the long term."

VANCOUVER WHITECAPS

The Vancouver Whitecaps trimmed their roster on Thursday cutting a pair of defenders ahead of their match against the LA Galaxy this weekend. The Whitecaps waived Mouloud Akloul and Blake Wagner, a pair of defenders, who were sparsely used by Vancouver this season. 

Both players participated in the Whitecaps USSF Division 2 season last year, but struggled to find time as of late.