The Houston Dynamo got some good news this week, as both Brian Ching and Anthony Obodai returned to practice and seem likely to be available for Saturday night’s match against the San Jose Earthquakes.
Houston will still be shorthanded, however, as midfielder Geoff Cameron and forward Joseph Ngwenya sit out Saturday’s match due to red-card suspensions. Sammy Appiah (back) and Tally Hall (ankle) both did not travel with the team to San Jose due to injury.
While Ching and Obodai will both be available against the Quakes, it seems unlikely that either will get a full 90 minutes.
“Both are game-time decisions,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said. “They both did all right [Friday], and Brian got through practice and is moving well.”
Ching has pushed himself to return despite having little to play for down the stretch.
“I’m not 100 percent pain-free, but it’s good enough,” noted Ching. “So it will be up to Dom [to make the call].”
[inline_node:320566]Ching added that replacing the suspended Cameron will be tough task.
“It will be difficult, because he’s been playing well since he’s been back,” said Ching. “However, we’ve been without him for 18 or so games already, so it’s not something we haven’t faced.”
When Cameron missed games earlier in the season due to injury, the team turned to either Brad Davis, Adrian Serioux, or Richard Mulrooney to fill in. With Obodai on board now, the team has another option that could be preferable, but the coaching staff admits they will have to be cautious with Obodai.
“We can look at Lovel [Palmer] and Richard [Mulrooney], or Lovel and Brad, and we are still bouncing some ideas around,” Kinnear said. “We will talk to some players [Saturday] and see how they are feeling and see what our options are.”
Dwain Capodice is a contributor to MLSsoccer.com. Questions or Comments can be sent via email to dwaincapodice@gmail.com.
