LA Galaxy trio Gerrard, Keane, Dos Santos rested for FC Dallas match
LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena seems to be giving some of his star players some much-needed rest ahead of the 2016 MLS postseason, with Steven Gerrard, Robbie Keane, and Giovani Dos Santos not named to the 18-man squad taking on FC Dallas in the final match of the regular season.
Since the LA Galaxy are locked into the third seed in the Western Conference regardless of Sunday's result, Arena could afford to give opportunities to other players in his squad and give Keane and Dos Santos a chance to recuperate.
Gerrard's absence might be a little more worrisome, however. The former Liverpool captain spent last week back in Merseyside with the Reds at their training ground and Liverpool manager Jurgen Klopp spoke of potentially giving Gerrard a role at the club.
"Steven Gerrard is always so welcome at Liverpool FC - you can't imagine how welcome," Klopp said. "But everything that we have already talked about or will speak about stays in this situation. That's how I know Stevie and that's how I am.
Gerrard also delivered something of a scare earlier in the week as a photo captioned with a heartfelt thank you to LA Galaxy fans surfaced online.
Steven Gerrard looks like he's saying goodbye to LA Galaxy on his Instagram account. pic.twitter.com/46oim6c93Z
— MLS (@TheMLSshow) October 22, 2016
However, the LA Galaxy clarified that Gerrard - and other LA Galaxy players - were instructed to send out those messages as part of a fan appreciation day the club had orchestrated.
In either case, Gerrard's absence in midfield opens the doors for Landon Donovan to start against FC Dallas. It marks Donovan's second consecutive start since he made his return from a two-year retirement spell, and Donovan says a solid showing could see him consider a return in the 2017 season.