On Friday, Head Coach Brian Schmetzer spoke to the media and addressed the injury status of midfielder Jordy Delem and goalkeeper Stefan Frei. Both players exited Wednesday's match in San Jose due to leg injuries.
“Jordy Delem is the bad news and that is an ACL and will require surgery,” Schmetzer said. “The good news from last night is Stef. It looked like it would be a significant injury, but it is going to be termed a sprained knee… There is no ACL damage in his knee, which is good.”
Just a few minutes into Wednesday's contest, Delem had to receive medical attention and was subbed for Shane O'Neill. When Schmetzer brought in João Paulo and Brad Smith as reinforcements in the second half, all three in-match substitution windows had been used. Frei's injury in second-half stoppage time put the squad down to 10 players and defender Alex Roldan stepped into goal to preserve the 1-0 win in one of the gutsiest performances in club history.
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Delem, 28, made his first start of the season on Wednesday prior to the injury. The midfielder from Martinique has 74 MLS appearances since joining the First Team in January 2017.
Frei's injury history has been relatively light since signing with the club in December 2013. The 35-year-old goalkeeper has missed just five matches in the past six seasons: a shoulder sprain in 2015 (three matches), hip flexor in 2017 (one match) and a concussion in 2018 (one match). Sounders FC has two other goalkeepers currently on its roster in Stefan Cleveland and Spencer Richey, with Homegrown Player Trey Muse on a season-long loan to San Diego Loyal.
