After missing the majority of preseason and the start of the season, Joseph Paintsil is finally in line to make his season debut.
Paintsil, who scored 14 goals and added eight assists last season, has been sidelined due to a quad injury.
“Joe has been in training all week, he will be available,” Galaxy coach Greg Vanney said. “It’s really been nice to have Joe back into the fold.”
The Galaxy (0-3-2, two points) return home Saturday against Orlando City SC (2-2-1).
“Things become a lot more dynamic with Joe, there’s no two ways about it. That’s an interesting piece for us,” Vanney said
Without a doubt, the Galaxy attack has not only missed Paintsil’s production, but also the threat he poses on the wing with his speed.
“The only thing he hasn’t been doing is playing games,” Vanney said. “He’s been doing everything else. We played ’11 v 11′ (Wednesday), he played the full (time), he looked very good. Physically, he’s really ready to go, but he hasn’t had a preseason, he hasn’t played a real game in a long time, so I don’t think it’s fair for me to say that Joe is going to go out there and beat the sharpest version of what we’ve ever seen. It’s not a fair response.
“He needs to get some games under his belt, reconnect with partners on the side or in the spaces that he’s working and that may happen really fast or it may take a game or two. It’s been since the (MLS Cup) final since Joe has played a game, so it’s not we should all be expecting Joe to be at his highest and sharpest moment when he hits the field. I know his emotion is he can’t wait to get on the field.
“He’s flying in training at top speed and he looks great, but in terms of all of the things that come with having a great game, there’s more to that than being ready physically.”
Saturday’s game ends a hectic March with seven games and sends the Galaxy into a busy April, with Tuesday’s first leg of the CONCACAF Champions Cup quarterfinals against Tigres the first of six games. The game also kicks off a stretch of four games in 11 days, ending April 8.
Orlando City enters the weekend with a league-high 13 goals allowed but a league-worst 11 allowed. The Galaxy have scored just four goals and allowed 10.
“What’s been a challenge for us sometimes is we give up the first goal and then the opposition is emboldened to sit a little lower, stay a little more compact,” Vanney said. “It takes longer for us to get the game open up a little bit to where some of those spaces might open up and so we’re having to work in tight spaces where every detail, every little split-second matters in the ability to create chances.
“In the last game, we had a few good chances, but I felt like we were one detail, two little details from that being five, six chances. Those are the things we’re doing on video, we’re trying to work on the field, getting guys in the right spaces, change rhythm faster …We’re coming along, but I think our margins are a little tight at the moment, but our margins will start to improve as we continue to get healthy. I say that because Joe’s speed is irreplaceable and things like that will help us.”
ORLANDO CITY SC at GALAXY
When: 7 p.m. Saturday
Where: Dignity Health Sports Park
How to watch: Apple TV (MLS Season Pass)