Tobin Heath didn't train Thursday, but still should play on Saturday, Portland coach Cindy Parlow Cone said. (Copyright Patricia Giobetti | http://www.printroom.com/pro/psgiobetti)
ROCHESTER, N.Y. — Topic 1 at Portland Thorns FC training on Thursday was, of course, the health of U.S. internationals Alex Morgan and Tobin Heath.
Morgan trained with a knee brace, while Heath sat out training for what coach Cindy Parlow Cone said was extra rest. Heath sustained a right foot injury in Saturday’s semifinal win over FC Kansas City, while Morgan has been out since spraining her left MCL on August 7.
“Both are looking good. With the travel and everything, we decided to give Tobin an extra day off, but she’ll be out at training tomorrow,” Cone said after training. “And then Alex trained back in Portland and trained again today. She looks good and she should be good to go, for sure, as well.”
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Morgan said the flight from Portland gave her knee some trouble, but training since has gone well.
“The knee feels good. I’ve been training now for a couple of days. We came early to kind of get adjusted to the time and recover our legs. I think that was good for my knee, personally, because it didn’t react to well to the flight. So getting on the field feels really good and I’m hoping to be full-go for Saturday.”
The big questions revolve around whether either will start, and exactly how much they will play.
“We’re going to talk about it as a coaching staff and talk about it with them – what they are feeling, what their level is,” Cone said. “But from training it looks like both of their confidence level is really high. I look for both of them to be able to play significant roles in the game.”
“I think it’s going to be a decision between Cindy, our physical therapist here and our trainer on how I look in practice and whether I look 100 percent, because the team has been doing well. It’s all up to what she thinks,” Morgan said.
