Red Bull New York is facing a late call on Justin Che’s availability ahead of Saturday’s match against St. Louis City SC.
The 22-year-old defender missed New York’s past two games due to an ankle injury. He was most recently listed as questionable on the previous week’s MLS Player Availability Report.
Though head coach Michael Bradley is encouraged by the defender’s overall progress, Che could be held out of Saturday’s contest against St. Louis, with the October 10 home match against San Diego FC potentially being a more realistic date for his return.
Che’s Status Uncertain Ahead of St. Louis City Match
“[Justin is] moving along in a good way,” Bradley said during Thursday’s press conference. “We’ll see what it means for Saturday, whether he can get himself back in time for this one or whether or not he’s going to need to take advantage of the weekend off, then be ready to go for San Diego.
“He’s doing everything that he can. We’re pushing him along in a good way and, like I said, we’ll take advantage of every minute, every hour between now and the time the game kicks off.”
Che most recently played in a 2-0 away defeat to Los Angeles FC, where he hobbled off in stoppage time.
Bradley Praises Parker-Bazán Central Defense Partnership
Veteran defender Tim Parker has comfortably stepped into the starting XI alongside central defense partner Julián Bazán in Che’s absence. The duo helped the Red Bulls earn consecutive 1-0 victories over the Columbus Crew and New York City FC.
“In a short amount of time, in matches, they have developed a really good relationship and so that’s been really positive for us,” Bradley explained. “It’s been the basis for some really important wins for us over this last period.
“All the credit goes to Tim and Bazán for their mentality, the way that they have really been the backbone for us over these last few games. I would throw Tim into that category with Bazán where they love to defend, they enjoy the part of making the game really hard on the other team’s attacking players and when you have guys with that mentality and when that’s the starting point then it’s the foundation to being a team that is really hard to play against and defends well.”
Saturday’s contest at Sports Illustrated Stadium is scheduled to kick off at 7:30 p.m. The match will be carried on Apple TV.
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