The United States officially eliminated Paraguay from the Copa America on Saturday night and with them went Seattle Sounder Nelson Valdez. Valdez only appeared as a substitute in Paraguay’s first game against Costa Rica, which ended in a scoreless draw, getting 17 minutes of playing time.
Valdez took a flight back to Seattle from Philadelphia Sunday night, the day after Paraguay’s loss to the United States, and was back training with the Sounders on Monday. For what seemed like forever, Valdez hasn’t played for Seattle due to injuries but Sigi Schmid told reporters that he is healthy and ready to get going with the Sounders again.