Seattle Sounders Head Coach Brian Schmetzer addressed media on Tuesday at Starfire Sports, providing an update on the injury status of midfielder Cristian Roldan.
“Cristian, after seeing a couple of specialists down in LA, actually underwent a successful groin surgery this morning,” said Schmetzer. “His athletic pubalgia just wasn’t getting any better.”
Schmetzer revealed that Roldan’s timeline for recovery is somewhere in the 4-6 week range. That should put him back in contention toward the end of the regular season and in time for Audi MLS Cup Playoffs.
A stalwart in midfield for the Sounders, Roldan made the difficult decision to seek this treatment path after lengthy discussions with the coaches, training staff and medical specialists. Roldan, who has played over 250 matches with the club, ultimately chose what Schmetzer described as ‘the best outcome’ to receive the procedure and begin rehabilitation right away.
While the loss of Roldan is certainly a blow – he sits fourth on the team in goals and second in assists in regular-season play this year – Seattle’s match against the LA Galaxy provided a blueprint for how they can be successful in his absence.
“The team is going to miss him,” noted Schmetzer. "But I thought Danny Leyva played great again. Albert and Nico picked up some of the slack. I liked the two-forward set with Jordan and Raúl. There were plenty of positives from that game against LA, we just have to replicate it against Portland.”
Schmetzer provided some positive news regarding the health of key players. Ruidíaz, who posted a goal and an assist against the Galaxy, is now able to go 90 minutes after coming back from a hamstring injury.
The Sounders return to action on Friday as they visit the Portland Timbers (7:25 p.m. PT; ESPN, ESPN Deportes, 93.3 KJR FM, El Rey 1360AM) at Providence Park on Friday.
