Galaxy-Real Salt Lake Preview
Javier Morales provided Real Salt Lake with a dangerous offensive threat as it jumped out to a solid start.
Now it is feeling the effects of his absence.
Morales' second injury of the season will force him to sit out at least Wednesday night's home match with the Los Angeles Galaxy as RSL tries to end a four-game winless streak.
Morales had a hand in five of Salt Lake's six goals during its 2-0-3 to start the season. But Morales suffered a groin injury April 11 against Sporting Kansas City, forcing him to miss losses the next two weeks to Vancouver and New England. RSL failed to score in all three of those games.
The veteran midfielder, who has two goals and three assists, returned for Friday's 1-all draw with San Jose, then left in the 27th minute after suffering a concussion.
There's no estimate for how long Morales will be out this time. Coach Jeff Cassar said Morales will undergo regular testing in order to determine when he will be able to return to practice.
Salt Lake (2-2-4) plays at Chicago on Saturday, leaving little time for Morales to recover for that match. RSL also has been without forward Joao Plata, who broke his foot in January.
"Javi's the best player on our team. And also you've got Plata that's still out, so you're looking at two players that when they're fit and healthy they are the players that you look to give the ball to whenever we get it or win it back," midfielder Luke Mulholland told the club's official website. "So we're definitely going to be missing (Morales). It's a great loss to be without Javier, but at the same time, I think we've got the personnel to get the job done."
Cassar pointed to Jordan Allen, Sebastian Saucedo and Luis Gil as players who are expected to see more time.
Even with Morales starting all five matches against the Galaxy last year, Salt Lake managed only two goals as he failed to score in any of them. RSL went 0-2-2 in the final four meetings and had its season end with a 5-0 road loss to Los Angeles in the second leg of the Western Conference semifinals.
The Galaxy (3-2-4) are riding a four-match unbeaten streak but are 0-5-5 on the road since beating Chivas USA on Aug. 31, and their next three games are away from home.
They played at home Saturday as Alan Gordon scored in the 75th minute in a 1-all draw with Colorado.
Coach Bruce Arena wasn't happy with the effort despite opting not to include regular starters Juninho, Stefan Ishizaki and A.J. DeLaGarza in the opening lineup. That extra rest could be helpful with Los Angeles facing another quick turnaround against FC Dallas on Saturday.
"At the end of the day, all points are needed. Results are key, whether it's a tie or a win," Gordon told the club's official site. "But we definitely wanted three points (against Colorado) and we didn't play well enough to get that, but coming back is always a good sign."
The Galaxy are 0-2-2 in their last four visits to Salt Lake City.