TUKWILA, Wash. — In the wake of Chad Marshall’s knee surgery Tuesday, Seattle’s playoff hopes will center around the defensive capabilities of centerback Roman Torres in Thursday’s second leg against the Portland Timbers. While Torres has fallen out of the starting XI for most of the 2018 season, he returns at a critical moment in Seattle’s hopes to thwart the Timbers and advance to the conference finals.
Torres replaced Marshall in the first leg of the playoff at Providence Park Nov. 4. At the time, it was not known how severe Marshall’s injury was, though head coach Brian Schmetzer revealed Tuesday that Marshall required surgery for an injury to his meniscus.