LA Galaxy injuries: Alvarez out weeks, dos Santos could play in season opener

Efrain Alvarez suffered what was first feared to be a severe ankle injury in Wednesday’s preseason game against the Colorado Rapids, but after the 17-year-old midfielder underwent tests in recent days, there’s a more thorough update about his prognosis and the news sounds fairly promising.

The Los Angeles Times’ Kevin Baxter reported on Saturday that Alvarez suffered ligament damage to his left ankle, but the player will perform therapy to recover, presumably meaning he does not require surgery.

As for the timeline, “coming weeks” is fairly ambiguous, that could be a tidy three weeks or so or much longer. But it does sound promising that there was no fracture in his ankle or damage that requires surgery.

Following Saturday’s 1-1 draw against the Chicago Fire to wrap up preseason, Galaxy head coach Guillermo Barros Schelotto reportedly said Alvarez could be ready in as little as two weeks.

“I think Efrain [Alvarez] will be out for two more weeks. I expect him Tuesday, training with me,” Schelotto said.

Saturday’s tune-up missed one indispensable starter, in Jonathan dos Santos, and one likely starter given the current makeup of the roster in Daniel Steres. Both players have been hobbled all preseason, and Schelotto seemed to indicate it’s possible either player could be ready for Saturday’s season opener at the Houston Dynamo.

“Daniel [Steres] and Jonathan [Dos Santos], I don’t know if they will be ready for the game in Houston, because Jonathan missed out most of the preseason,” Schelotto said. “We only have one week before Houston. It’s almost the same for Daniel, so I don’t know if they will be ready for Houston, but we need to check during the week on how they feel.”

If those two can’t play, it seems likely that Perry Kitchen could get the start in dos Santos’ place in midfield, while Nick DePuy, who was impressive in Saturday’s match against Chicago, would be the option in lieu of Steres in central defense.

More news for this Monday:

• Fire draw recap: I was at the game, and here is the recap I wrote of it on site.
• Black Arrow FC partnership: The Galaxy have teamed up with soccer culture and lifestyle brand Black Arrow FC for 2020, a brand that focuses in particular on the black experience. This is a very cool team-up, excited to see what they do together this year.

• Acosta has surgery: New defender Danny Acosta suffered a torn ACL before the season even started, but he had surgery over the weekend and is expected to miss 7-9 months according to the team. Best of luck to Danny in his recovery.

Today’s question: Which injury are you most concerned about heading into the season? Let’s chat about that or anything else you like in the comments below!