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Sandy • When asked about the 6-foot-4 center back he's played alongside for the last seven seasons, Tony Beltran always circles back to the answer he's traditionally given.
"A healthy, fit Chris Schuler is really a game-changer," said Beltran.
After the 29-year-old defender made his long-awaited return to the Real Salt Lake lineup Saturday night in a 1-0 road loss to the Portland Timbers, could Schuler — who has battled injury issues in every professional season in his career — be an X-factor in the team's postseason charge?
RSL coach Jeff Cassar said Tuesday after training that the open starting spot alongside 19-year-old Justen Glad remains up for grabs between Schuler and Jamison Olave.
"It's a competition, as always," Cassar said. "We'll tackle that through the week and see how that goes, but I think Jamison's doing a very good job and I think Chris played good [at Portland]."
Schuler's inclusion over the weekend was necessary after Olave served a one-game suspension for smacking Los Angeles Galaxy defender Daniel Steres in the head in RSL's 3-3 home draw against L.A. on Sept. 7. It was Schuler's first MLS start in 14 months. While recovering from foot surgery, he signed with RSL's USL affiliate, Real Monarchs, to provide him time to rehab.
After six months with the Monarchs, RSL re-signed Schuler in early August.
"I was able to make a step forward, which is very positive," he said after the loss to the Timbers. "My body feels good, which honestly for me is the most important part after playing on this turf. I feel golden, so that's good."
Olave, 35, has 13 starts and 14 regular-season appearances in 2016. He also happens to have two game-winning goals at home for RSL.
Midfield questions
Javier Morales went through drills with the RSL training staff Tuesday. It's a positive sign for Morales and RSL after he was forced off 30 minutes in his substitute role Saturday in Portland with a right quadriceps injury. Cassar said Morales is still getting treatment on his injury, sometime as much as three times a day.
"He's heading in the right direction," Cassar said, "but until we get him into drills, we won't quite know [if he's ready for Saturday]."
If Morales can't go against the Houston Dynamo, Cassar said the staff will look to see what combination works best, but signalled that Luke Mulholland is the likely replacement.
"Luke's going to get the [first] bite of the apple and see how that goes," Cassar said.
After training concluded Tuesday, RSL was informed that midfielder Sunday Stephen would be suspended a game for contact made with Portland forward Fanendo Adi.
Expansion draft details released
The MLS Expansion Draft won't have the impact on MLS rosters it has in the past. The league announced Tuesday that this year's expansion draft for incoming teams Atlanta United and Minnesota United FC in 2017 will allow each of the new teams to select a maximum of five players. That's been cut down considerably after teams had the chance to pick as many 10 as recently as two years ago.
MLS clubs will protect 11 players, including homegrown talents. Once a player is selected from a team's unprotected roster, the team is removed from the draft process and cannot lose any more players.
The expansion draft will take place on Dec. 13, three days after the scheduled 2016 MLS Cup final.
Twitter: @chriskamrani —
Houston at RSL
Saturday, 7:30 p.m.
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