SPORTING KC MANGER PETER VERMES
On status of Seth Sinovic after leaving game early due to injury…
He said his hip locked up a little bit. We didn’t want to take any chances so he came off the field. Up to this point, they haven’t had time to do a ton of diagnosis. But, from what I hear, he was trying to be a little smart and not make something very minor into something major.
On the team's possible signs of fatigue…
Maybe the team was fatigued but look, Columbus played well. We were on the back foot, I’m not going to take anything away from them. I thought they worked hard and played well. So, it is what it is. It’s preseason.
On preseason as a whole…
In one respect, it seems like it’s been really long but on the other side, it seems like it’s been actually really short and that we have had to accelerate everything even more so than we wanted to just because of the shortness from last year to this year. What I mean when I say that it’s long is that we usually have a five day period that we spend in KC before we go on the road and this year we did not do that.
Assessment on where the team is at compared to where it needs to be heading into the regular season…
I think we are in a similar position to where we have been the last few years. I think that we are a little banged up at the moment, but that goes with the territory when you’re in a lot of competitions and play late in the year. You wind up being in a position where some guys are going to be a little fatigued. But, we’ll get through it. We’ll get ready and we have our first game next week and everything starts for real. I think all in all, preseason has been good and I think we’re ready to get the season underway. That’s for sure.
On Claudio’s performance during the preseason…
He’s been in form and has played very well. I would say that a lot of guys have done well over the course of preseason. Dom (Dwyer) has done well; different guys have played well. C.J. suffered an injury against Fluminense unfortunately which knocked him out again today. All those guys are going to be important. The roster is going to be important. We have a lot of games coming up in a short period of time, and that’s what we are really going to have to get prepared for.
On C.J.’s status…
He got a contusion. He’s still not where he needs to be. I always tell the guys, if you think you need some extra time then keep yourself there. Right now, it’s all about getting the contusion better. Nothing more that that.
