Injury Update
The Fire have received a boost in recent weeks with Robert Earnshaw scoring two goals in his first two matches. Although the Welshman said earlier this past week he hoped to start against New England, Fire head coach Frank Yallop admitted Friday that the veteran striker hadn’t trained during the week because of an injury suffered towards the end of Saturday’s 1-0 win over FC Dallas.
“Earnie tweaked his calf in the last game we had against Dallas,” Yallop said Friday. “He might be doubtful but he might recover by the weekend. I don’t think it’s a major injury but just a niggle that’s not allowing him to train at the moment.”
- READ: Athletico Injury Report
While Yallop left open the possibility for Earnshaw to appear Sunday, the manager confirmed that 2013 MLS MVP Mike Magee wouldn’t be available for selection vs. New England.
“Mike has an ongoing hip issue so we’re just trying to get to the bottom of that,” Yallop continued. H”e’s still sore, he tried to train two days ago and he’s still sore. Not a good sign but we’ll try to get to the bottom of that and find out what’s going on in the next few days.”
Magee last appeared in a 1-0 defeat to Montreal on August 16.
Patrick Nyarko and Benji Joya
While the Earnshaw/Magee news is a bit heavy, the Fire should receive a boost in the form of Patrick Nyarko and potentially Benji Joya returning to the 18 on Sunday.
Nyarko has no doubt been missed the entire summer after suffering a sprained knee following the May 18 victory over Sporting KC. The Ghanaian winger began training last week, came on as a sub in Sunday’s 2-1 reserve win over FC Dallas and seems set to play a part vs. New England.
“Patrick will be back in the fold,” Yallop said. “I’ll see how the squad looks but hopefully he’ll be on the bench for the weekend.”
- CHAT WITH MATT: Watson talks Cocis partnership, course of 2014 season
Meanwhile, Yallop explained why U.S. youth international Benji Joya had seen diminished time after returning from a summer quad injury.
“He played his first reserve game for us [Sunday] since weeks after his injury so it was good to see him. He’s back in the picture now. We spoke last week and I’ve kept saying to him, ‘training is difficult to show anything.’ He had a good reserve game on Sunday and I thought he was back to being Benji. His injury took longer than he thought and I thought. Even when he went away to play with the national team, I didn’t think he was 100% to be honest. He might say differently but watching him I knew he wasn’t quite confident and wasn’t doing his normal stuff. He looked good on Sunday and it’s good to have him back in the fold.”
Sega/Soumare Caution Watch
With four yellow cards this season, both starting center back Bakary Soumare and left back Gonzalo Segares are on caution watch tonight. A yellow for either player would make them ineligible for next week’s game vs. Toronto FC.
What’s the deal with New England?
If there’s any definition of a streaky MLS team this season, it’s probably the Revolution. Towards the beginning of the season the Revs went unbeaten in seven matches (six wins), then spent most of the summer without a win (seven straight defeats). Fortunately for them, they’ve recently come good again, going unbeaten in their last four and winning their last three.
Part of that is down to the play off Lee Nguyen, with the thrice-capped U.S. international tallying four goals and an assist in his last three matches. The likes of Kelyn Rowe, Teal Bunbury and Charlie Davies have also raised their game but of course new signing Jermaine Jones has given the Revolution another dimension.
- TACTICAL: Dealing with Revolution's Lee Nguyen
The once-Fire target said following Wednesday’s 3-1 win over Sporting KC he hoped to get his first full 90 minutes for the Revolution against the Fire since joining the club two weeks ago via blind draw.
Chicago Fire Weekly
Myself, Fred Huebner and Kevin Egan previewed tonight’s clash on Saturday’s episode of Fire Weekly, welcoming RevolutionSoccer.net’s Jeff Lemieux and Fire midfielder Logan Pause.
Get primed for the match with the podcast edition here.
