RSL Starts 2013 With Key Knocks

Defender Chris Wingert will be among 3 RSL Starters missing opening night

Will things be a little dicey for the Claret and Cobalt not only Sunday night at San Jose but for the opening few weeks of the season?  Well, it could be.  Let's just say some of the new guys and younger guys are gonna get their chance to see if they can fill some pretty big shoes.

None of these injuries are actually news, but seeing it finally official and in black and white on the MLS site kind of stings.  RSL will be missing two out of the four projected starters on their back line, with Nat Borchers and Chris Wingert (above) out for the near future.  Borchers has surgery in early January, and while he has been training, no date has been targeted for his return to the field.  Watson-Siriboe and Schuler should be just fine, but these early matches will be telling as to how much the loss of Jamison Olave will hurt.  Wingert is further away from a return than Borchers, it's possible that he might not see action until late April. (Ouch).  Expect to see Kenny Mansally get his shot.  This excites me as I love what he brings to the pitch.

The other concern is in midfield, as Javier Morales will most likely miss at least the first two matches.  He had surgery after sustaining an injury early on in the preseason.  According to Michael Black on the league site, Javy hopes to be ready in time for the home opener.  I'm actually pretty confident about the midfield though. Luis Gil will be back from international duty and Sebastian Velasquez showed well in preseason.  I think RSL will be ok here in the short term, but they'll need the minutes from Javy throughout the season, especially after resigning him.

So it should be interesting.  Keep in mind that RSL starts off with two huge road tests, at San Jose and at DC United.  The nice part about that is that it's two of the bigger road fixtures out of the way early on.  One less trip back east, and opening night will be the only time that RSL has to play at San Jose all season.  The other two fixtures against the defending Shield winners will take place at Rio Tinto, not that it helped last year.

Check out Black's story on MLSSoccer.com for more info.