Seattle Sounders manager Brian Schmetzer has revealed that goalkeeper Stefan Frei is presently on a concussion evaluation protocol after receiving an elbow to his head during the dying seconds of Saturday’s match against Chicago Fire. Both teams were pushing for the winner after being at 1-1 but the game ended in a sore note for Frei after Alan Gordon’s elbow caught him on the left temple.

 

Shortly after, Frei was lying motionless as the medics came to attend him and this pretty much summed up the game as referee Armando Villarreal blew the final whistle. Speaking during a training session on Tuesday, Schmetzer is presently out of contention after experiencing concussion-like symptoms and this could potentially see him the first Cascadia Cup match of the season versus Portland Timbers on Saturday.

Speaking to reporters, the Sounders head coach said: “I had to make sure I said it the right way. He is in the concussion protocol. That’s what we’re — we’re going to leave it at that. There’s a set (routine), he’s got to do this by a certain day. All those little details. We’ll keep you abreast as the week progresses.”

Barring his gaffe against Los Angeles FC, the Sounders have relied on Frei heavily in big games through the campaign and the club will certainly miss his presence between the sticks, should the absence be a lengthy one. Meanwhile, the Sounders managed to arrest their losing streak against Chicago after previously going five league games without picking up points.

Like in recent meetings, the Sounders experienced another faulty start after AleksandarKatai opened the scoring for Chicago in just the ninth minute. However, veteran star Clint Dempsey managed to come to the club’s rescue with a 22nd minute strike which saw them pick up their first points since early May.