DAVENPORT, Fla. – After an eventful (yet somehow scoreless) affair in Clearwater on Wednesday, it was back to work for the New York Red Bulls on Thursday morning.
- TICKETS: Red Bulls Home Opener vs. Toronto FC, Sunday March 6
For those who saw some heavy minutes in the friendly against the Union the night prior, the morning was used as a regeneration session in order to get the players back to playing shape. New York has yet another friendly on Saturday night, their final tune-up of the 2016 preseason.
Others, however, took part in a training session led by head coach Jesse Marsch. Many of the trialists and rookies that saw limited or no playing time on Wednesday night took part in a few drills, as well as a modified scrimmage.
“We’re trying to take the guys who played 30 minutes and the guys who didn’t play and use it as a morning to push a little bit more,” head coach Jesse Marsch said. “For the most part, I think guys put a lot into it. It was good.”
On the injury front, it’s been mostly positive news in the past few weeks as many Red Bulls who were on the mend have been working their way back into the fold. Alex Muyl, Anatole Abang, and Ronald Zubar all featured in the match against the Union, but there was a bit of scare for New York around the 55th minute as Sacha Kljestan picked up knock that forced him out of the contest. Luckily, however, the damage appears to be minimal.
“He’s fine,” Marsch told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “It’s just a knock to his shin, so we’re hopeful that tomorrow he’ll be able to train and be ready to go for Saturday.”
Additionally, Shaun Wright-Phillips has continued to work his way back into the fold and is closer than ever to being 100 percent fit. Marsch was pleased with his training session on Thursday morning and pegged the Englishman to see his first minutes of preseason in New York’s friendly with the Jacksonville Armada on Saturday night.
“It’s good to get him back,” Marsch added. “He brings so much quality on the field to what we do and personality. He’s looked sharper and sharper and fitter and fitter every day, so the goal is to get him ready for opening weekend to at least play 30 minutes, and I think he’s close to that right now.
“We’ve used him as a neutral a lot this week, but we’ll push that as we go here. I’m hopeful that Saturday he’s still feeling well and hopefully we can get him around 10 to 15 minutes.”
