This week's bye and June's FIFA international schedule break mean Minnesota United plays just once between last Saturday's 1-0 victory over FC Dallas and its next game, a June 19 rematch in Dallas.
That means training time to get new striker Ramon Abila fitter and time to rest Emanuel Reynoso and Robin Lod, both with nagging injuries. It also provides time to get newly signed Adrien Hunou and Franco Fragapane to Minnesota and integrated and available to play a week from Saturday at Real Salt Lake.
Lod, fellow Finnish national teammate Jukka Raitala and Slovakia national team midfielder Jan Gregus will remain with the Loons for the Real Salt Lake game before they join their national teams preparing for the European championship. The commitment could keep them overseas until late June or beyond.
Hunou posted a photo from a plane window on his Instagram account Tuesday and was on a flight from Paris due to arrive in Minnesota near midnight. Meanwhile, the Loons waited by the hour for Fragapane's immigration paperwork to clear in Argentina.
"We're hoping today, tomorrow at the latest," coach Adrian Heath said after the team trained Tuesday at the National Sports Center in Blaine.
Hunou will get tested for COVID-19 when he arrives. He will train on his own at the team's Blaine facility in the afternoons while he clears a seven-day quarantine. Same for Fragapane, except his quarantine time from South America is five days.
"I'll be disappointed if both of them weren't available" for the Real Salt Lake game, Heath said.
Heath also said he's hopeful the team will strike deals to loan out some of its young players so they can get game action somewhere during the MLS break.
Abila's arrival on loan from Boca Juniors in Argentina preceded Hunou and Fragapane by six weeks. He has started one game out of five MLS games he has played. He scored the winning goal in a 1-0 home victory over Vancouver on May 12.
"Some guys need some work, Wanchope is one," Heath said, referring to Abila's Argentine nickname. "Get him some real work where we're not worried if he is going to be available for the weekend."
Reynoso has played through calf and shin pain as well as a swollen knee that Heath calls "nothing that we think will be a problem long term." He attributes Reynoso's "nicks" to the attention opposing defenses pay him this season.
"People aren't silly," Heath said. "They watch our games and they know he's a threat. They know if somebody is going to create, invariably he might be the one. … I feel as though he's getting better each game. I feel as though Saturday was his best again. The metrics for his high-speed running and distances covered has gone up each game, so that bodes well."
