Schelotto waves off concerns of possible Chicharito injury in LA Galaxy scrimmage

The LA Galaxy held a squad scrimmage Thursday to give players game minutes, as they prepare to head to Orlando next week for the MLS is back Tournament.

The 60-minute game, which mixed Galaxy first-team members with LA Galaxy II players and ended in a 2-0 win for Team Gray over Team Blue, was a success in the eyes of first-team head coach Guilllermo Barros Schelotto.

“Today we tried to do 11-v-11, play one hour, giving minutes to everyone,” Schelotto told reporters in English on a conference call after the scrimmage.

The only abiding concern coming out of the game was superstar striker Chicharito exiting the game at the half after taking a knock on a foul. But Schelotto waved off any lingering concerns about a potential injury.

“I think people just hit him and he didn’t want to take a risk to [continue] play today. I talked to the doctor, I think he will be ready for training tomorrow. Nothing important, I think,” Schelotto said. “Same with [Joe] Corona, he called me with some pain in the knee, but nothing important.”

The Galaxy will train Friday and Saturday, then rest and pack Sunday before heading to Orlando Monday. They are scheduled to open tournament play July 13 against the Portland Timbers.

With reports that nine players on FC Dallas’ squad in Orlando have tested positive for coronavirus this week, and surging infections around the country, including both California and Florida, Schelotto admitted, “I think nobody knows what’s going to happen in the future about the virus.”

But he also emphasized for now, his team has a job to do.

“We need to focus to try and come back to play,” he said. “I think the tournament in Orlando is very, very interesting and I support this kind of tournament because maybe it will be the first step forward.”

“Everyone has to take care of yourself.”

Technical director Dennis te Kloese also talked to reporters, and said when asked about coronavirus that he struggles to find credible news on the subject at times.

But Te Kloese said he supports the plan to return to action in Orlando, as long as everyone there is doing all they can to be safe.

“I would say that MLS and everybody is trying to do their utmost best intent to have the best sanitary and safety procedure possible,” he said. “I do think that it’s obviously a day by day analysis, if this is going in a direction that obviously is a best environment for everybody. I actually trust every safety measure and every sanitary protocol and procedure that they put in place. I think it will come to each and every individual that goes there to stay with the protocol to be very respectful towards every safety measure that has been taken, so that there’s not going to be taken any more risk upon the people that are currently in the so-called bubble.”

Te Kloese also said in English and in Spanish that everyone needs to wear masks and wash their hands regularly.

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