Galaxy might be short-handed for Rapids' visit

Just when the LA Galaxy appeared to have conquered the injury bug, health issues have returned with a vengeance ahead of the team's Tuesday home match against the Colorado Rapids.

Just when the LA Galaxy appeared to have conquered the injury bug, health issues have returned with a vengeance ahead of the team's Tuesday home match against the Colorado Rapids.

A full-strength Galaxy team began to play on Saturday but wound up with a disappointing 2-2 home draw against Minnesota United and also saw two key players depart early.

Winger Romain Alessandrini scored his eighth goal of the season only seven minutes into the contest, but he exited 17 minutes later after injuring his right leg. Then attacker Giovani dos Santos departed at the half for Los Angeles (10-8-6, 36 points) with his own left leg ailment.

Alessandrini and dos Santos are both listed as questionable for the Tuesday contest in Carson, Calif.

Los Angeles coach Sigi Schmid admits each loss complicates a three-game, eight-day stretch for a club that already relies on several players over the age of 30. Those include star forward Zlatan Ibrahimovic, outside back Ashley Cole and winger Chris Pontius.

"You sort of have lineups written in your mind, but then everything sort of goes out the window as you are dealing with the injuries," Schmid said after Saturday's loss. "We have to see how everybody came through the game tonight, and then we will make our decisions."

Meanwhile, the Rapids (6-12-5, 23 points) are in a rare positive stretch this season after defeating the San Jose Earthquakes 2-1 on Saturday for a second consecutive victory. Colorado earned a 2-1 home win over the Galaxy two weekends ago.

After Kellyn Acosta scored in his first two games with the Rapids, the secondary-transfer-window addition assisted on both goals Saturday against the Western Conference's last-place club.

Colorado is 4-3-3 in its last 10 games following a miserable eight-game losing skid earlier this season. The Rapids still begin the week 12 points beneath the playoff line, though coach Anthony Hudson says his team's mentality is as good as it's ever been.

"Slowly, the players are believing more and more in ourselves and what we're doing," Hudson said. "At no point in this period did the players stop working. And what's what they're doing. They just continue to fight and work hard, and they're really committed to moving the team in the right direction."

(This story has not been edited by Devdiscourse staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)