Red Bulls fans can breathe a sigh of relief heading into Saturday's historic playoff game against New York City FC.
Head coach Sandro Schwartz told reporters Thursday that star forward Lewis Morgan will be available for the club when it faces its archrival in the 30th annual Hudson River Derby with a spot in the Eastern Conference finals on the line. .
Morgan, the Red Bulls' top scorer during the regular season, had not played for Scotland during the international break and there were concerns about his availability on Saturday.
“He can play,” Schwartz said bluntly, before adding that Morgan had attended the Red Bulls' last two training sessions.
Morgan has not participated in any training since the Red Bulls' loss to the Columbus Crew on November 3. AM New York reported.
Neither Schwartz nor the Red Bulls would say what was bothering Morgan, but the head coach suggested it might have something to do with his recent workload.
Morgan will be coming off a 2023 season in which he played in just five games due to a number of injuries.
“It's been a long season for him. After a long period of injury and development, he played a lot of games,” Schwartz said of Morgan, who played in three Nations League games and one Euro game for France. . He qualified for MLS and joined the Scottish national team.
“He also played with the national team during the summer holidays, during the League Cup, and then went on to represent Scotland in the European Championship. It’s not easy to deal with that every time when you travel so much. Because he played in a very good place and had a lot of game time…He was in a good position in the last two team training sessions, so I hope nothing happens tomorrow. I hope you are ready.”
The Red Bulls will be fighting for a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals in the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018.
Morgan will be a huge contributor to the Red Bulls' hopes of defeating NYCFC, which dominated them during the regular season.
The Scottish striker recorded seven assists during the regular season and was named MLS Comeback Player of the Year for his stellar performance in 2024.
The 28-year-old has yet to find the back of the net in the postseason.
