LA Galaxy could be without Dos Santos, Alessandrini against Colorado

ByReuters ESPN logo
Tuesday, August 14, 2018

The LA Galaxy's health issues have returned with both Romain Alessandrini and Giovani Dos Santos in doubt for Tuesday's match against the Colorado Rapids.

A full-strength Galaxy team began play on Saturday but wound up with a disappointing 2-2 home draw against Minnesota United and also saw two key players depart early.

Winger Alessandrini scored his eighth goal of the season only seven minutes into the contest, but he exited 17 minutes later after injuring his right leg. Then Dos Santos departed at the half for Los Angeles with his own left leg ailment.

Alessandrini and Dos Santos are both listed as questionable for the Tuesday contest in Carson, California.

Galaxy coach Sigi Schmid admits each loss complicates a three-game, eight-day stretch for a club that already relies on several players over the age of 30. Those include star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, who is two goals away from 500 for club and country, outside back Ashley Cole and winger Chris Pontius.

"You sort of have lineups written in your mind, but then everything sort of goes out the window as you are dealing with the injuries," Schmid said after Saturday's loss. "We have to see how everybody came through the game tonight, and then we will make our decisions."

Meanwhile, the Rapids are in a rare positive stretch this season after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday for a second-consecutive victory. Colorado earned a 2-1 home win over the Galaxy two weekends ago.

After Kellyn Acosta scored in his first two games with the Rapids, the secondary-transfer-window addition assisted on both goals Saturday against San Jose.

Colorado is 4-3-3 in its past 10 games following a miserable eight-game losing skid earlier this season. The Rapids still begin the week 12 points beneath the playoff line, though coach Anthony Hudson says his team's mentality is as good as it's ever been.

"Slowly, the players are believing more and more in ourselves and what we're doing," Hudson said. "At no point in this period did the players stop working. And what's what they're doing. They just continue to fight and work hard, and they're really committed to move the team in the right direction."

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