SANDY — The quad injury that kept Alvaro Saborio out of last Saturday’s loss to Los Angeles will keep the Real Salt Lake striker on the sideline for a while.
Saborio didn’t train with Real Salt Lake on Tuesday, and coach Jason Kreis said he expects the Costa Rican international to miss several weeks.
Saborio strained the quad during post-practice shooting drills last Friday, and RSL certainly missed his presence in the attack during a 2-0 shutout loss to the Galaxy.
Robbie Findley was also unavailable last Saturday after hyperextending his knee during the same shooting drills that Saborio injured himself in. Kreis, however, is optimistic that Findley will be available against Vancouver this Saturday at Rio Tinto Stadium.
Olmes Garcia tweaked his groin during the L.A. loss, but even though he didn’t train Tuesday, Kreis is also optimistic that he’ll be available this Saturday.
“It will be day by day on those guys,” said Kreis.
Findley’s hyperextended knee was the latest injury to keep the speedy striker on the sideline. He suffered a groin injury in the opening 10 minutes against Seattle on March 30, eventually being subbed off in the 14th minute.
His only playing time in the four games since that loss was a 27-minute substitute appearance against Chivas USA.
His potential return this Saturday could be a big boost to an RSL attack that ranks 14th in MLS with just seven goals scored.
MORE PLAYING TIME: Second-year RSL midfielder Enzo Martinez was sent on a short-term loan Tuesday to the second-division Carolina Railhawks of the NASL.
Martinez hasn’t appeared in any first-team matches for Real Salt Lake this season.
The Railhawks play in Cary, N.C., which is about three hours from Martinez’s home town of Rock Hill, S.C.
Carolina plays three games in May, including this Saturday’s match at Minnesota United FC. It’s unclear how many games Martinez will be available for Carolina.
Even though Martinez hasn’t made an appearance with RSL’s first team, he has started every MLS Reserve League game, including a strong performance against L.A.’s reserves Sunday.