Atlanta United manager Gerardo Martino confirmed Friday that Miguel Almiron and Chris McCann are healthy and eligible for the 18 active players for Sunday’s game against Toronto at Mercedes-Benz Stadium. He declined to say if they will have a place in the starting 11.
Almiron, an attacking midfielder who has scored nine goals and has 13 assists, has missed the past four games after sustaining a hamstring injury in the first half of the 2-0 win against Montreal on Sept. 24.
McCann, a midfielder and fullback, sustained a hamstring injury in the first half of the next game against Philadelphia on Sept. 27.
Atlanta United is in fourth place in the MLS Eastern Conference. It trails second-place NYCFC by two points and leads fifth-place Columbus by one point. NYCFC will host Columbus on Sunday. The first- and second-place teams will receive byes in the playoffs. The third- and fourth-place teams will host the fifth- and sixth-place teams in the single-game knockout round starting Oct. 25 or Oct. 26.
“It will be a big push,” said teammate Julian Gressel, who has played the position in Almiron’s absence. “He brings a lot of stuff to the table that we miss without him.”
Martino said the possibility of having to play again as soon as Wednesday will have an impact on how much Almiron plays Sunday, but he couldn’t say how much it will affect his decisions on when or if Almiron will be subbed.
“The advantage for you guys is you can talk about the decision after the game,” Martino said. “I can’t do that.”
Martino said that fullback Greg Garza, midfielder/striker Brandon Vazquez and goalkeeper Alec Kann won’t be among the 18 on Sunday.
“The bodies that are ready are still feeling good,” captain Michael Parkhurst said. “We feel confident. We’ve had a good week of training this week. We are looking forward to the opportunity this weekend.”
The team also will play without centerback Leandro Gonzalez Pirez, who was suspended for one game after receiving a yellow card in last week’s 0-0 draw at New York Red Bulls. Martino typically has moved Jeff Larentowicz into that position when Gonzalez Pirez can’t play. Martino declined to say if that’s what he will do again Sunday.
Toronto leads the league in goals scored (72) and features two of the league’s best attackers in Jozy Altidore and Sebastian Giovinco.
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