HANOVER, N.J. – Injuries threatened to rob the New York Red Bulls of some star power for their upcoming high-profile meeting with the Seattle Sounders, but Mike Petke's wounded heavy hitters have returned to good health and are available for selection.
The Red Bulls will welcome the Supporters' Shield-leading and recently-crowned US Open Cup champion Sounders to Red Bull Arena on Saturday night (730 pm ET; NBCSN, NBCSports.com), and will do so with a near-complete stable of players. Thierry Henry (achilles), Tim Cahill (hamstring) and Bradley Wright-Phillips (hamstring) had all been dealing with minor injuries this week, but the star trio has been cleared for the match to give Petke a full array of weapons to choose from.
"They all seem to be ready to go, so I have decisions to make," Petke said after practice on Friday. "Bradley got the OK today, Thierry is good. Tim, I have to get the final report, is back and good. There'll be some tough decisions tomorrow."
Though the three of them are back, just what roles they will have on Saturday night remains unclear. The Red Bulls have found success in recent matches by playing a 4-2-3-1 formation that has Henry out on the left flank and Peguy Luyindula pulling the creative strings centrally, and Petke will now have to figure out what is the best combination of players to try and beat a in-form Seattle team that has talent at every position.
What might help Petke's decision-making is the health of Wright-Phillips, who might be at risk of reaggravating the hamstring injury he sustained against D.C. United on Sept. 10 if he were to carry a heavy workload on Saturday.
"I don't know. I'll leave that up to [to fitness coach David Alvarez]," said Wright-Phillips when asked if he could go the distance. "If it was up to me I would, but I'm no expert in muscles. I feel normal, but obviously with hamstrings I've heard in the last few days you're not going to get any warning. As it gets tired, that's when the damage can be done. I've just got to take it easy, see what happens [and] see what the professionals think and I'll go from there."
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Henry and Cahill, meanwhile, seem ready to put in 90-minute shifts vs. the Sounders should Petke decide to go that route. Both Designated Players were subbed off in this past weekend's 2-2 draw vs. the Philadelphia Union after feeling some discomfort, but have used this week to rest and recover in order to suit up against Seattle.
"I've been feeling it for the past three games ... but I feel okay and I'll be okay for tomorrow," said Henry. "Hopefully I can play the whole game, but I'll be okay to start."
Said Cahill: "I'm feeling pretty good. The last three days I've been rehabbing with [Wright-Phillips] and I'm feeling pretty good. Good training session today and I'm hoping to get some game time tomorrow."
