CARSON, Calif. – The LA Galaxy could have the closest thing to a complete team they've had available in at least a month for the Supporters' Shield-deciding home-and-home series with the Seattle Sounders that begins this weekend, with all four starting players missing in Sunday's loss at FC Dallas ready to take the field.
Striker Robbie Keane returns from international duty, central midfielder Marcelo Sarvas from a yellow card-accumulation suspension, and right back Dan Gargan says he's ready to go after a little more than a half-hour of action in the 2-1 defeat to Dallas that left LA (17-6-9) even with the Sounders (19-10-3) on points, with 60, heading into the final two weeks of the regular season but behind on the total-wins tiebreaker.
Left back Robbie Rogers, who missed Sunday's game after suffering a hamstring strain in first half of Oct. 4 victory over Toronto FC, expects to be training fully Wednesday morning and is aiming to be ready for Sunday's meeting with the Sounders at StubHub Center.
“I'm good. I played as neutral today [in game-situation drills] and did fitness and everything, so maybe full training tomorrow and go from there …,” Rogers said following Tuesday morning's practice at StubHub. “Huge games [that will] really prepare us for the playoffs – home and away series – and they're a great team, and it's going to be very difficult no matter what.
“I hope to play a part in whatever way I can.”
A.J. DeLaGarza or James Riley can start on the left if Rogers isn't quite ready for that assignment, but he's come back much more quickly than he thought was possible when he tweaked the hamstring.
“I was worried after that game, right when it happened,” he said. “That would be the worst thing, is to miss the playoffs, especially in this league. You know, it's great to win the Supporters' Shield, but next season we'll only talk about who won the MLS Cup, so the most important thing for me was getting the MRI and seeing that I'd be back in a week or two.”
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Gargan was hurt Sept. 28 against New York, suffering a sprained ankle, and missed the game against Toronto. He was on the bench at Dallas and was given unexpected time, coming on in the 57th minute for Riley, who is still building his minutes after just two appearances since tearing his left meniscus in March.
“It felt good,” Gargan said. “It was a plan [to not use me], to try and rest it, but I was able to get in the match and get a good run in. … We're focused on Seattle, and I'm ready to go.”
The only players definitely unavailable this weekend are defender Todd Dunivant, who is running again after tearing a groin muscle in early September, and forward Rob Friend, who is dealing with a concussion and hasn't played nor trained since the Manchester United friendly in July.
“We will be fine, we will be fine,” said head coach Bruce Arena, who rarely discusses injuries. “Things happen during the week, so you never know, but our team's pretty healthy at this point.”
