FRISCO, Texas — FC Dallas captain Daniel Hernandez was on the sidelines for Wednesday morning’s training session because of an issue with his right knee.
However, the FCD veteran downplayed missing training and affirmed that he’ll be ready to roll when his side hits the field at the Home Depot Center on Sunday night to face the Los Angeles Galaxy in the Western Conference Championship (9 p.m. ET, ESPN2/Deportes).
“We weren’t sure Daniel was going to start against Salt Lake [on Saturday] because of his knee being that swollen," Hyndman said. "It came from a goofy penalty kick ... The first shot he hit, he hurt his knee.”
Hyndman said that Hernandez took an injection in the knee to reduce the pain and had some fluid drained.
"They drew out, I think, 42 CCs of fluid, so that’s a lot,” Hyndman said. “What I don’t want to do is have him go through that again before this game. We’re just trying to let it go through its own natural recovery stage without any impact on shots, hard tackles or anything.”
When asked about the possibility of Hernandez not practicing at all this week but still being in the first XI, the FCD gaffer replied he’d have no reservations about putting him in there to anchor the middle of the yard like he’s done all year.
“It’s probably the same issue as Kevin Hartman starting and not playing for a while,” Hyndman said. “They’re still experienced professionals and they get it done.”
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