Raúl Ruidíaz doesn’t travel with Sounders to Columbus

RENTON — As the Seattle Sounders’ training session wound down on Thursday, Raúl Ruidíaz sat quietly against a pillar watching his teammates. A little while later, they would board a charter flight for Saturday’s match against the Columbus Crew. Ruidíaz did not join them.

The Sounders’ all-time leading scorer was limited to training on the side, ostensibly because of “a couple of issues with his knees”, according to head coach Brian Schmetzer. But the timing was at least curious, as it came the same day that a story in Sounder at Heart — citing sources within the team — claimed that Ruidíaz had decided he wouldn’t be returning to the Sounders in 2025.

Schmetzer didn’t seem to think the two things were related and made it clear that Ruidíaz still has a place in the team.

“I love Raúl,” Schmetzer said. “I think Raúl is great. Every time we have conversations, they’ve been good. It’s not always easy. There have been multiple conversations this year, some good, some not so good.

“Raúl is our all-time leading scorer. I’ll check in with him. If that’s his decision, then he’s free to make that decision. Nico [Lodeiro] and I had similar conversations last year. It’s never easy when players get to the ends of their careers. We respect Raúl for everything he’s done. I respect Raúl. I think I have a good relationship with him.”

Still, Schmetzer said he felt as though he needed to follow up with Ruidíaz and clear the air. The story described Ruidíaz’s relationship with Schmetzer as “decaying” and said morale had dipped, at least among several players.

“It’s a pretty inflammatory article, the stuff I read, so I’ll have to talk to Raúl and see where he lands,” Schmetzer said. “I hope if he does go, it’s on good terms.”

Crew will be short-handed

The Crew might be the best team in MLS this year, but they will be missing at least seven players when they face the Sounders. Among that group are five of their nine most-used players, their top two goalkeepers and one of their top offensive reserves.

Despite all those absences, the Sounders aren’t expecting the Crew to play much differently than they normally do.

“This is probably the best team I’ve seen in MLS,” Sounders midfielder Cristian Roldan said. “Regardless of how many guys they’re missing, they’re tactically very sound. Obviously they are going to be missing some big pieces but they fill in their roles really well, because they know what their roles are. I’m excited for the challenge. It’s never easy, but these are the games you want to be playing.”

Frei could return next week

Stefan Frei was officially ruled out for the Crew game while in concussion protocol, but Schmetzer was optimistic that his goalkeeper might not be out very long.

“He’ll be ready for the following game,” Schmetzer said. “That’s my personal belief, but doctors would have to confirm.”