Santos and Fabián may both be available, Wagner status still uncertain for FC Cincinnati
Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin said Tuesday he still hadn’t heard a final decision from the Disciplinary Committee on his left back
Sergio Santos and Marco Fabián could both be in the 18 against FC Cincinnati tomorrow, according to Philadelphia Union head coach Jim Curtin, who gave an injury update during his post-training media availability on Tuesday.
“Marco trained, yesterday was his first day back fully with the group,” Curtin said. “He has shown well in training; he still isn’t 100 percent but he’s close for being available for selection for tomorrow...Sergio’s been very sharp in practices and looks to be fully ready to go. Fitness will be an element with him in terms of how many minutes that will be but he certainly has played well in training.”
Incredibly, Curtin couldn’t say for sure whether he would have his starting left back Kai Wagner back for the game. Wagner served his one-game suspension for the late red card against Montreal Impact last weekend, but could still see another game added on.
While we could see Santos, Fabián and Wagner all back tomorrow, there will still be a number of players out, including Cory Burke, Andre Blake, Mark McKenzie and Anthony Fontana.
Curtin said Blake will be out with his groin injury for at least another week.
“He’s been getting after it every day to get himself back as quickly as possible,” Curtin said. “I’d say progressing as expected right now but still likely to miss another week or so and hopefully ramp things up and see what he can tolerate. He’s usually a quick healer and is a big part of our team.”
Burke, who missed the Vancouver trip due to “personal reasons” has also not returned to training and Curtin was unable to comment further on his absence.
McKenzie has a meeting with his doctor on Thursday and Curtin said they’ll have a better idea of the time frame for his return after that meeting. Fontana, meanwhile, was training to the side on Tuesday.