This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2012, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.
Sandy — Real Salt Lake could be without forward Fabian Espindola and defender Jamison Olave on Tuesday night during its CONCACAF Champions League game against Costa Rica's Herediano at Rio Tinto Stadium.With forward Alvaro Saborio already sidelined because of yellow card accumulation, the loss of Espindola and Jamsion would be a huge setback for RSL in its attempt to advance to the Champions League quarterfinals.Because of tie-breakers, Real Salt Lake must defeat Herediano by specfic margins: 1-0 or at least two goals.Espindola left training Sunday because of what coach Jason Kreis described as general soreness he's experienced since last Wednesday's 0-0 draw on the artifical surface of CenturyLink Field in Seattle.Asked if Espindola will play against Herediano, Kreis said, "I think it's 50-50 at the moment. It's very concerning. He came back from Seattle very sore in several different places on his body, so we're being very cautious right now. Hopefully, he will be in training [Monday] and available for consideration come Tuesday."And Olave, who continues to recover from a hamstring injury?"Same thing," Kreis said. "Also 50-50."Kreis knows he will be without Saborio, which "... concerns us a little bit, of course. He's scored so many important goals for us this year. He's scored so many important goals for us in CONCACAF over the past several years. He's a key figure for our team. We will miss him, but we will have other players out there who we will expect to be able to step up."— Steve Luhm