TORONTO — The Seattle Sounders are on a roll as they head into Saturday’s MLS Cup final against Toronto FC (4 pm ET; ESPN, UniMás in US | TSN, TVAS in Canada), but forward Jordan Morris hasn’t been able to enjoy the ride as much as he’d like.
Morris, the 2016 MLS Rookie of the Year, has been out of action since suffering a strained hamstring in Seattle’s 1-1 draw against the LA Galaxy on September 10.
As sporting challenges come, Morris said he hasn’t faced many bigger than his recent stretch of inactivity.
“In my career, it’s definitely one of the biggest,” Morris said after the Sounders practiced at BMO Field on Friday morning. “It was the worst injury I’ve had so far. Hopefully there are none worse in the future.
“For the last three months I have wanted to be out there helping the team,” Morris added. “That’s the toughest part, just watching the games and wishing you were playing. Obviously, setbacks are going to happen in your career. Maybe, as a younger guy, it’s good to learn that early. It’s just good to be back.”
Morris said the severity of his injury made the layoff as long as it was.
“It was a pretty bad one,” he said of his strain, “so it just took a long time to come back. I didn’t want to push it to come back too early and have it happen again because then you’re out for even longer.”
Morris finally made it back to the field when he came on for the final 14 minutes of Seattle’s 3-0 win over Houston in the second leg of the Western Conference Championship.
“It was a good run out to get a few minutes and get that confidence back a little bit,” Morris said. “It was a time of the game where it slowed down and we were going to go through so we were just keeping possession. It still felt good to get back out on the field and get those minutes under my belt. It just gives me a little more confidence going into this game.”
Sounders teammate Cristian Roldan said the entire team got a lift from seeing Morris return to game action.
“You saw how hungry he was to score a goal and you saw how the team reacted,” Roldan said Friday. “He’s a huge part of our team. He can be deadly for us, he can make an impact in the game even off the bench.”
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer has said he may use Morris as a substitute against Toronto. Morris said he doesn’t mind how he’s used in the championship game.
“Whatever my role is, I’m just trying to do the best I can,” he said.
A college champion at Stanford, Morris scored 14 goals in his debut MLS season, including two in the playoffs, but saw his production slip this year, when he finished with just three goals.
Morris said he has leaned on his fellow Sounders for much-needed support throughout a difficult few months.
“Everyone has been through setbacks and had setbacks in their career,” he said. “You’ve just got to come back stronger. [The way] teammates and coaches and support staff helped me get back has been great.”
