He’s back.
Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez is available for selection for the LA Galaxy in their Week 24 road game against the Colorado Rapids on Saturday, head coach Greg Vanney confirmed during pre-game media availability (3:30 pm ET | Univision, TUDN, Twitter).
"He’s doing great," Vanney said. "Part of him not being part of the All-Star and LAFC was to give him that time to recover. He’s trained all week with the group and he’s done well. Feels good, looks good, so he’ll be available this week and we’ll try to work together with him and make sure we create the right loads and schedule to get through this really busy week. But we want to see as much of him as we can without putting him in a tough situation. But he’ll be ready to go."
The Mexican superstar forward has been out with a calf injury and hasn't featured since LA’s June 26 game against the San Jose Earthquakes. That ensured Chicharito missed 12 contests, having contributed 10 goals and one assist in 10 matches (all starts) before being sidelined.
Whether Chicharito can start or come off the bench remains to be seen, though he’ll hope to reignite a possible Landon Donovan MLS MVP-caliber campaign. He’s still firmly in the Golden Boot presented by Audi hunt, trailing Seattle’s Raul Ruidiaz (current leader) by just four goals.
LA are currently fourth in the Western Conference standings while chasing an Audi MLS Cup Playoffs return. In Chicharito’s absence, their attack has been led by Kevin Cabral, Dejan Joveljic and Efrain Alvarez, among others.
