Will Riqui Puig play for LA Galaxy against Portland Timbers?

The Los Angeles Galaxy have had a season to forget due to the number of injuries they have had to deal with. The latest to join this list is LA’s driving force and captain, Riqui Puig, who suffered an injury to his right ankle in the draw against Austin FC at Q2 Stadium last weekend.

The 24-year-old midfielder returned to Los Angeles on Monday morning on crutches and has been receiving treatment all week to accelerate his recovery. Puig is now a doubt for Saturday’s clash against Portland Timbers at Dignity Health Sports Park and LA Galaxy coach Greg Vanney spoke about his chances of featuring.

Riqui Puig update

“He has a sprained ankle,” Vanney began. “The good news is that it’s not a serious sprain, but we’re evaluating it on a day-to-day basis. He was with the medical staff all day today [Thursday] and he’s been doing everything he can to get his ankle deflated. Puig is not in a lot of pain and tomorrow he will try to train with the rest of the group and we will see how he feels. We are optimistic that he will play at the weekend, but he didn’t train today and we will see how he evolves in training on Friday.”

Riqui Puig has only missed one of the club’s 29 games this season and that was due to yellow card accumulation. In that game, the Galaxy lost 2-0 to Orlando, a reflection of how important the Spaniard is to the team’s hopes of getting three points.

Galaxy require a win

A defeat for the Galaxy against the Portland Timbers on Saturday could see them miss out on the playoffs with four games left in the regular season. They are currently in second-last place in the Western Conference with 34 points and need to move into the top nine to qualify.