TORONTO– Jordan Morris has been faced with one of the biggest challenges a young player could face over the last three months.

Thanks to the experience around him in the Seattle Sounders’ locker room, the U.S. Men’s National Team forward has been able to recover from his hamstring injury with patience to be available for Saturday’s MLS Cup against Toronto FC.

“It’s very tough. For the last three months, I wanted to be out there helping the team,” Morris said. “The toughest part is watching the games and wishing you were playing. Obviously setbacks are going to happen in your career and maybe as a younger guy it’s good to learn that early and it’s just good to be back. It’s obviously tough and frustrating, but it’s good to be back and healthy again and I’m trying to make an impact tomorrow.” 

“Just talking to all the guys (has helped with the recovery),” Morris said. “Everyone’s been through setbacks and had them in their career. You just have to come back stronger and teammates and coaches helping me get back has been great.” 

Morris was a consistent figure in the Sounders lineup during his Rookie of the Year campaign in 2016, scoring 12 goals and contributing four assists in the regular season with an additional two tallies coming in the playoffs.

The 23-year-old suffered the hamstring injury in the September 10 tie against the LA Galaxy at CenturyLink Field. He didn’t return to game action until the second leg of the Western Conference Final, where he made a 14-minute cameo off the bench.

“It was the worst injury I had so far,” Morris said. “Hopefully there’s nothing worse in the future. It was the worst one I’ve had and it’s tough. It makes you realize how much you love the game and appreciate being out here and you just want to be out on the field playing games. It’s been tough, but obviously the team’s done great.” 

“It’s good to get back,” Morris said. “Obviously it’s a long setback and frustrating time. It’s good to be back and hopefully I can try and make an impact.” 

Morris hopes he can play some type of role in the Sounders attack on Saturday, a unit that is improved from 2016 and is hungry to put the pressure on Toronto FC early on.