BY ADAM SERRANO
CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena confirmed that Landon Donovan is an injury doubt for Saturday’s match against the New England Revolution. Donovan has been absent for training for the entire week due to what Arena admitted was a quadriceps strain.
The Galaxy are currently coming off of the first bye week of the year after starting the season off with four games in 12 days. The Galaxy captain has battled the strain since returning from an offseason loan to English side Everton and Arena stated that it could keep him out of action for Saturday.
“It’s always possible, that’s been the case the last two or three games,” said Arena. “Since he’s come back, he’s had a bunch and we’ve kept him out of training.”
Donovan was not the only injury question mark for Saturday as Mike Magee missed parts of training due to injury, but Arena confirmed that the midfielder is expected to be available.
CHIVAS USA
Chivas USA midfielder Michael Lahoud is hoping to make an impact during Sunday’s match against Sporting Kansas City, both on and off the field.
The midfielder has battled a hamstring strain since the beginning of the season, which has kept the talented winger out for the club’s first three matches of the 2012. Lahoud returned to training earlier this week and has hopes of making the club's gameday squad for their match against Sporting.
But even if Lahoud does not appear, the night will still be very important for the midfielder as he holds a fundraiser for his charity "Schools for Salone" which re-builds schools in his native Sierra Leone.
“At the end of the day, it’s not about us,” Lahoud explained to MLSsoccer.com. “It’s about us getting focused on something bigger than just players, and moreso to help the people in need in Sierra Leone.”
COLORADO RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids will be without Pablo Mastroeni for another week.
Head coach Oscar Pareja confirmed to the club's website that it is unlikely that the Rapids captain will be unavailable for their match this Sunday against the Chicago Fire due to a concussion like injury.
"Pablo is undergoing exams," Pareja said of Mastroeni. "Our medical staff is observing him to make a determination of what amount of time Pablo needs to recover."
Without Mastroeni, the Rapids are expected to turn to Jeff Larentowicz and Martin Rivero to step into the club's defensive midfield role.
PORTLAND TIMBERS
MLS is assured of one representative in the 2012 Olympic Games in London. Portland Timbers goalkeeper Jake Gleeson.
The goalkeeper recently helped the Kiwi's Under-23 squad to an Olympic berth by helping the small, island nation win the Oceania qualifying tournament last week with a shutout victory over Fuji. During the tournament, the Portland goalkeeper stonewalled attackers conceding just two goals in three games for the Kiwis. Although Gleeson remains the backup to incumbent Troy Perkins, the goalkeeper is overjoyed with the prospect of representing his nation in the Olympic games.
"Obviously it's fantastic," Gleeson told MLSsoccer.com. "Coming out here in training is fantastic. But it's just another team to get involved with and another level to get involved with on the national the international stage. There's going to be large crowds. It's just going to be really excited. As a footballer, that's what you play for. You play for games like that; you play for tournaments like that.”
FC DALLAS
FC Dallas will be without Colombian forward Fabian Castillo for the third consecutive week when they face DC United this weekend.
Head coach Schellas Hyndman confirmed to ESPN Dallas that the Colombian forward will miss another week due to a nagging knee injury. Castillo has been recovering from the injury since being pulled during FCD's season opening victory against the New York Red Bulls.
“Yeah, it is precautionary," said Hyndman. "He’s not traveling,”
REAL SALT LAKE
After a disappointing loss to Chivas USA last weekend, head coach Jason Kreis appears ready to shuffle his lineup ahead of RSL’s match this weekend against the Portland Timbers
Alvaro Saborio (ankle), Javier Morales (knee) have finally recovered from injuries and Kreis admits that he is ready to re-integrate the players into his starting lineup.
“I think it develops over continuing to train hard,” Kreis told reporters after training on Tuesday. “Today was a hard session – almost 90 minutes. It comes with them progressing along the scale of how many minutes they are playing in first-team action, reserve team matches. And then at the end of it all it requires a little bit of a leap of faith.”
SAN JOSE EARTHQUAKES
Yet another squad in the Western Conference is battling the injury bug.
Head coach Frank Yallop confirmed during the club’s training session on Thursday that Turkish striker Sercan Guvenisik will be out of commission for two weeks with a thigh injury. The Turkish forward went down earlier in the week during the club’s reserve match with the Portland Timbers.
SEATTLE SOUNDERS
Jeff Parke was one of the standouts in the Seattle Sounders defense in 2011, but in 2012, the defender has been unable to lock down a starting role with Seattle — and he is not happy about it.
Parke confirmed on Wednesday that he was not pleased about being left out of the starting lineup by Sigi Schmid for the Sounders first pair of regular season matches. After starting 38 games in all competitions for Seattle in 2011, Parke has been used in a reserve capacity while Jhon Kennedy Hurtado and Patrick Ianni have played in his stead.
"It's the coach's decision," said Parke of Seattle coach Sigi Schmid. "He's the one with the answers. Do I agree with it? No. Do I think that's the reality of it? No. But that's his take. Everybody's entitled to their own opinions and their own thoughts. I'm going to try my best to keep the frustration and anger down. … I guess it's a part of the game."
VANCOUVER WHITECAPS
Sebastien Le Toux makes his return to Philadelphia on Saturday and the French striker admits that it will be strange to return to his former home.
Le Toux was traded from the Philadelphia Union during the offseason after a two year stay with the Union and immediately announced in an interview with the Philadelphia Daily News that he would "soon return than play for [Union head coach] Peter [Nowak] again." The Frenchman has immediately settled into his new place with the Whitecaps–scoring in his debut–but admits that it will be a strange to return to his old home this weekend.
"It's going to be a bit weird," he told ESPN.com. "This time, I will have to be careful to go to the right locker room. When I step out on the field, I will warm up on the [same] side that I used to. It's kind of normal; I spent two great years over there. But it will be a good thing for me to turn the page on my career in Philly."