The doctor is in: Three key players closer to reintroduction to Austin FC squad
Depending on how Wednesday's doctor appointment goes, long-sidelined striker Brandon Vázquez could see action on Sunday. Also, Owen Wolff may make his season debut.
One of the most consequential doctor's appointments for Austin FC will take place today, according to Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez.
The big news out of Tuesday's media availability is that Brandon Vázquez will have the doctor's appointment allowing him to be clear for play in future matches.
Austin FC's Instagram account indicated yesterday that the club expects him to be medically cleared to go.
Additionally, Owen Wolff — sidelined for Verde's first 10 matches of 2026 — could see action this weekend against St. Louis City SC, with the odd 4:30 pm CT start time on Sunday. Dani Pereira, with setbacks from a hamstring injury holding him back, also looks ready to appear on Sunday.
Media was invited to see a full practice on Tuesday, which revealed that Jorge Alastuey is still training with the first team despite being out of first-team callups per MLS' unforgiving first team/second team rules. The Tender Three — now back to a Frail Five temporarily with Jayden Nelson and Robert Taylor's injury struggles — all look set to return for Sunday's match should they progress as expected.
Nelson took part in the first part of practice, dealing with what the player himself revealed to be a calf injury that cut his night short against Houston on Saturday — but not before he scored a goal to get Austin on its way to a 2-0 win.
Taylor, meanwhile, "had an injection" on Monday and then got in some training — my guess is he'll be questionable headed into Sunday.
On Owen Wolff's recovery
"No, I think it's a normal situation," he said regarding Wolff's slow recovery from sports hernia surgery. "I was talking with another colleague, a coach in the league that had another player with the same surgery, same age, and the timeline changed the same as with Owen. And it seems like sometimes, when you do that surgery, it affects your structure, in your muscles and in your body.
"You can have this one for depending, as you're progressing, when you make the next step, then maybe it's not like a setback, but then you have to stop a little bit, because you start feeling a discomfort, and you go again. And the discomfort is not bad. It's science, besides that, you are progressing in the right direction. It's not like you're getting injured again. It's like you're breaking additions that the body, the muscle gets very stiff, and then you're breaking that additions, and then your body starts functioning ... not at the same level, but I think he's in a great place right now."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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One of the most consequential doctor's appointments for Austin FC will take place today, according to Austin FC head coach Nico Estévez.
The big news out of Tuesday's media availability is that Brandon Vázquez will have the doctor's appointment allowing him to be clear for play in future matches.
Austin FC's Instagram account indicated yesterday that the club expects him to be medically cleared to go.
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Additionally, Owen Wolff — sidelined for Verde's first 10 matches of 2026 — could see action this weekend against St. Louis City SC, with the odd 4:30 pm CT start time on Sunday. Dani Pereira, with setbacks from a hamstring injury holding him back, also looks ready to appear on Sunday.
Media was invited to see a full practice on Tuesday, which revealed that Jorge Alastuey is still training with the first team despite being out of first-team callups per MLS' unforgiving first team/second team rules. The Tender Three — now back to a Frail Five temporarily with Jayden Nelson and Robert Taylor's injury struggles — all look set to return for Sunday's match should they progress as expected.
Nelson took part in the first part of practice, dealing with what the player himself revealed to be a calf injury that cut his night short against Houston on Saturday — but not before he scored a goal to get Austin on its way to a 2-0 win.
Taylor, meanwhile, "had an injection" on Monday and then got in some training — my guess is he'll be questionable headed into Sunday.
On Owen Wolff's recovery
"No, I think it's a normal situation," he said regarding Wolff's slow recovery from sports hernia surgery. "I was talking with another colleague, a coach in the league that had another player with the same surgery, same age, and the timeline changed the same as with Owen. And it seems like sometimes, when you do that surgery, it affects your structure, in your muscles and in your body.
"You can have this one for depending, as you're progressing, when you make the next step, then maybe it's not like a setback, but then you have to stop a little bit, because you start feeling a discomfort, and you go again. And the discomfort is not bad. It's science, besides that, you are progressing in the right direction. It's not like you're getting injured again. It's like you're breaking additions that the body, the muscle gets very stiff, and then you're breaking that additions, and then your body starts functioning ... not at the same level, but I think he's in a great place right now."
Verde All Day is a reader-supported online publication covering Austin FC. Additional support is provided by Austin Telco Federal Credit Union. For more coverage, check out Emergency Podcast! (an Austin FC Podcast) wherever you get your podcasts.
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