Marshall hoping to be ready for second leg
Sounders FC defender missed first leg with LCL sprain in right knee
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After undergoing a procedure last Friday to replace blood in the injured area, the Jamaican was able to do some jogging Monday and is shooting for Thursday for a full return to training.
"(The doctors) say the soreness will be there for a couple more days, but after that (the knee) can get back to a full range of movement and it will heal quicker," Marshall said. "Yesterday I could hardly walk and today I was jogging, so that's progress."
Marshall attempted to play Thursday, but the knee started tightening up during pregame warmups and did not feel steady. After speaking with coach Sigi Schmid, the veteran said he made the decision to take himself out of the match, rather than forcing the club to use an early substitution if he could not finish the match.
Although Patrick Ianni filled in admirably for Marshall, Schmid thought the last-second change may have shaken the team's confidence just enough to throw them off in the early going.
"To be honest, early in the game in the first 10 minutes I think we showed a little bit of nerves, mainly nerves because of the change with Tyrone right before the game," Schmid said. "Even though we have complete confidence in Patrick Ianni, and Patrick played very well, still it's a last-minute change."
Even healthy, there is no guarantee that Marshall would start in front of Ianni, especially after the youngster provided two of Seattle's best scoring chances with headers. Schmid said he will wait until the end of the week to make a choice on whether Ianni or Marshall will play alongside Jhon Kennedy Hurtado.
"Obviously Patrick stepped in and played well," Schmid said. "We approach it as if Patrick is going to play again. If Tyrone is ready to play, we make that decision as we move towards the end of the week."
One point in Marshall's favor is that he is one of the club's hardest tackling players, a trait that should come in handy if the second match is as rough as the first. Several players mentioned that coming terms with the additional physicality allowed in the playoffs also took some adjustment. When the team heads to Houston, they know they are in for another battle with one of the most physically imposing teams in the league. Marshall is hoping his knee will heal enough to let him be a part of it.
"I'm hoping, cross my fingers, that I'm healthy and able to go in there and add that experience so we can move on to the next stage," Marshall said.
Andrew Winner is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
