UPPER MONTCLAIR, N.J. – The New York Red Bulls were stretched thin on Saturday due to a rash of international call-ups. It didn't help that star forward Thierry Henry was unavailable due to an injury, too.
However, the Designated Player should be ready for the upcoming home game vs. the Houston Dynamo on Saturday as he participated in his first training session in more than a week on Monday.
“He looked absolutely ready and fit,” Red Bulls head coach Hans Backe told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “He moved well, he did well. He was ready.”
During the early minutes of a 1-0 defeat of the Seattle Sounders in the season opener two weekends ago, Henry pulled a hamstring. Though he completed the 90 minutes in the win, he was unable to train all last week due to the injury.
Backe was forced to exclude Henry from the traveling squad that tied Columbus 0-0 on Saturday afternoon.
The head coach was adamant last week to downplay the injury, insisting that it was minor and certainly not a long-term issue. Backe also noted that it wasn’t as serious as the hamstring injury that plagued Henry last season upon his midsummer signing with New York.
“I feel rather positively that he’ll be ready for Saturday,” Backe said. “It looks that way right now, he’s recovered well from the injury and it is a real positive for us.”
[inline_node:331417]Quick Notes
* Goalkeeper Greg Sutton, who had a concussion in training last Tuesday, will undergo an impact test on Tuesday and Backe will evaluate the player for inclusion in the squad on Saturday.
* The Red Bulls are expecting goalkeeper Bouna Coundoul to return to the team on Monday night having joined the Senegalese national team for the Saturday friendly against Cameroon.
* Playing without six starters from the season opening win, Backe was please with the Red Bulls performance in Columbus.
“Great, great effort with the six new guys coming together in one week,” Backe said. “We began working with them on our shape early last week. A great performance, really.”
Kristian R. Dyer can be followed at twitter.com/KristianRDyer
