CARSON, Calif. — Officially off the injured list for the first time since June, Edson Buddle is eager and ready to get back into the swing of things on Friday.
Buddle made his first appearance—a brief five-minute stint—since undergoing knee surgery in June during LA’s victory over Vancouver Whitecaps FC, but the forward hopes for more on Friday against the Colorado Rapids.
READ: Buddle makes first appearance since knee surgery
“I’m ready to play. I’m available and ready to play,” Buddle told LAGalaxy.com after Thursday’s training session. “I think that my knee is about 90 percent. Fitness and strength are still to come with the last 10 percent though.”
Although Buddle may be nearing full fitness, the forward will likely find it difficult to break into a Galaxy starting lineup that will likely be boasted by the return of Landon Donovan on Friday. But Buddle is not hanging his head as he targets a spot in the Galaxy’s starting lineup.
“I think that it comes with training. I’m pushing hard each and every day in training and I will need to apply that to the games. I don’t expect to go into the games right away unless something happens, but with these guys a little bit fitter than me right now, I have to push myself every day.”
FRANKLIN READY FOR DESPERATE RAPIDS
The Colorado Rapids may be winless in their last seven road matches, but the Galaxy are keenly aware that they will have a wealth of attacking talent at their disposal in Friday’s match.
At the forefront of Colorado’s attack is Jamaican forward Omar Cummings, who recently returned from international duty with the Jamaican national team where he participated in the Reggae Boyz’ 1-0 defeat to the United States on Wednesday.
With Colorado desperate to keep their playoff hopes alive, the Galaxy know that they’ll be in for a challenge.
“They’re going to be ready to play,” Galaxy defender Sean Franklin told LAGalaxy.com. “It’s going to be a tough game; we know that they have to basically win out to make the playoffs so they’re going to be coming in looking for three points. We just have to make sure that we’re on top of game.”
READ: Pregame Match Report
BECKHAM MISSES PRACTICE ON THURSDAY
David Beckham’s status for Friday is still in doubt after the midfielder missed out on another training session on Thursday.
While his teammates were training, Beckham underwent treatment for a left ankle sprain that first surfaced during LA’s match against Vancouver and has sidelined him from training for the entire week.
Adam Serrano is the LA Galaxy Insider. Read his blog at LAGalaxy.com/Insider and contact him at LAGalaxyInsider@gmail.com
