The Rapids trained on Thursday morning on the turf fields outside Dick’s Sporting Goods Park, the second official day of preseason and it was a little chillier than Wednesday’s opener. The 90-minute session was similar in structure to the day before, with warm-ups and passing drills preceding a more lengthy possession game.
Pablo Mastroeni stood off to the side and observed the second half of the session, adding his perspective when he felt necessary, but Steve Cooke was running the details of the practice.
RIVERO OUT, THOMAS TBD?
Later in the day, Paul Bravo and Tim Hinchey both confirmed in separate venues that Martín Rivero is apparently out of the team’s plans. “Martín will not return in 2014,” Bravo confirmed to the Denver Post. Both left open the possibility that Hendry Thomas could be back, though Bravo said that not much has changed in terms of the two parties reaching an agreement since the end of last season.
VAN DE CASTEELE PICKS HIS NUMBER
Rookie defender Grant Van De Casteele has chosen his new number, and will wear #21 for Colorado this season. Of the players currently on the roster, only Marvin Chavez has yet to pick his number for the season. He will wear #81 in Houston, which is the number he previously wore in San Jose.
BROWN RECOVERING
Deshorn Brown did not train today as he is still recuperating after an overseas trip that saw him return to Denver late on Tuesday night. We’ll have more information on his trip on www.ColoradoRapids.com early next week. Also sitting out on Thursday were Dillon Powers, Shane O’Neill, Brian Mullan, Chris Klute and Danny Mwanga. Brenton Griffiths and Davy Armstrong were on the field doing strengthening and fitness work but were not involved in the team activities.
EARLY FRIDAY MORNING
The Rapids are planning to travel to Houston on Friday morning, with the team meeting very early at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park to catch a bus to Denver International Airport. The severe weather coming to Denver could throw a wrench into the team’s plans, and we will have updates on www.twitter.com/ColoradoRapids.
