LA Galaxy will soon have one of its best players back on the pitch. According to Galaxy’s head coach Greg Vanney, forward Javier “Chicharito” Hernandez has recovered from his hamstring injury and is “ready” to make his season debut.
According to Vanney, if everything goes well, Chicharito will play in Galaxy’s game against Houston Dynamo over the weekend.
“He’ll train full all this week, he’s trained partially [in] some of the last sessions,” Vanney told reporters on Thursday. “He’s gotten enough under his belt, and his fitness level is good, so now it’s just getting him back into match fitness.”
Having Hernandez back will be a big boost for the LA team, considering how much they have struggled early in the 2023 MLS season. Galaxy is winless in their first five games, a run that includes two losses. They also only scored three goals while conceding six.
Last season was Chicharito’s best one since he arrived in MLS. The 34-year-old player scored 18 goals and added two assists while helping LA Galaxy to return to the MLS Cup playoffs and reach Conference Semifinals.
By scoring more than 12 goals in 2022, Chicharito had his contract with Galaxy automatically extended for 2023. But he might end up staying even longer as the two sides are reportedly engaged in talks about a contract extension.
