FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – New England Revolution head coach Jay Heaps is hopeful that both Juan Agudelo and Jose Goncalves will be available for this weekend’s visit to D.C. United.
Goncalves didn’t make the trip to Florida for Sunday’s 2-2 draw with Orlando City SC as Je-Vaughn Watson shifted centrally to partner Andrew Farrell and London Woodberry took over at right back.
Heaps said the Revolution captain was a late scratch from the traveling roster; Goncalves could’ve potentially played against Orlando, but the Revs took a more long-term view to the situation with a pair of home games on the docket in a four-day span next week.
“He’s coming along,” Heaps said of the first-choice center back. “It was a little bit precautionary. It was a little bit late. We thought we might be able to get him in, but then we thought long and hard about the next few weeks and how many games we have coming up.”
Watson was strong in partnership with Farrell, giving Heaps the luxury of waiting with Goncalves if they choose to give him more time. But either way he’ll be back on the field sooner rather than later.
“We’ll see as the week goes on,” Heaps said on Tuesday morning. “I think he’ll be ready, if not this week, at least for the [next] week.”
Agudelo has missed the last two games with a right hamstring strain; that after making his first two starts of the season against New York City FC and the New York Red Bulls the previous two matches.
The dynamic forward has made steady progress, however, and Heaps expects Agudelo to make his return at RFK Stadium, where he scored a memorable goal on his last visit in last year’s playoff game.
“Juan is further along into training already this week,” Heaps said. “We’re expecting him as an option, as well.”
