Park City » With many of them having played games over the weekend, the MLS All-Stars went through an exceptionally light workout Monday at the Park City Soccer Complex at Quinn's Junction.
Most of them, anyway.
Goalkeeper Kasey Keller of the Seattle Sounders did not attend because of a previous engagement, league officials said, while midfielder Landon Donovan remained in Los Angeles to get medical treatment for a calf injury. The Galaxy star and captain of the U.S. national team is expected to arrive on game day, but coach Dominic Kinnear has spoken at length about keeping players healthy and not risking their club seasons, raising the possibility that one of the game's main attractions might not play much against Everton FC at Rio Tinto Stadium on Wednesday night.
"But all accounts are he will be here for the game," Kinnear said.
Striker Conor Casey of the Colorado Rapids said it was hard to guess how the team might be affected if Donovan cannot play. On one hand, it probably would not be as good as it could be against Everton. On the other, though, the team is -- by definition -- loaded with talent.
"Obviously, Landon is an awesome player," he said. "Hopefully, it's nothing serious."
Getting the call
Goalkeeper Zach Thornton of Chivas USA was named an injury replacement for the team, replacing Houston's Pat Onstad . The 41-year-old Onstad suffered back stiffness after the Dynamo's game over the weekend, Kinnear said, paving the way for the Goats to get their only all-star representative.
Thornton becomes the fifth replacement player, joining RSL's Will Johnson , Chicago's Bakary Soumare . Seattle's Fredy Montero and Chicago's Cuauhtemoc Blanco .
Repeat performers
Donovan and Blanco are the only two players who played in last season's MLS All-Star Game who will return to the field this season, marking the fewest since the league moved to its new format in 2005.
Don't cry for me
RSL's Javier Morales said he was thrilled to finally get on the field with his fellow All-Stars, and expects a wonderful show at his home stadium. He also acknowledged that his selection by league commissioner Don Garber might have represented something of a "make-up call" for having been overlooked last season.
Yet his excitement was tempered by a bit of disappointment.
The Argentine midfielder will not get to play alongside his countryman, whose jersey he wore admiringly while growing up in Buenos Aires. "I would have really liked to play with Guillermo Barros Schelotto ," he said. "Unfortunately, he's injured. But for everything he represents in my country, that's why I would like to play with him someday."
