Josef Martinez not ruled out for New York City FC match

Tata Martino gave the much-anticipated weekly update on Josef Martinez after training on Thursday. While he didn’t commit either way, the Atlanta United manager simply said “we’ll see” when asked if Josef could be available for the matchday squad on Sunday against New York City FC.

He added that the Venezuelan striker’s progress will be monitored through the rest of the week of training and then a decision for his availability will be made. That’s progress at least. The possibility isn’t nil, even if it doesn’t seem likely at this point.

Martinez has now missed eight matches since injuring his quad on international duty. In his absence, Atlanta United have gone 2-3-3 in those matches. It’s taken all this time for someone (Miguel Almiron) to tie him for the team’s lead in goals at five.

Whether or not Josef makes it back to the bench for NYCFC or not, at least it seems like his return is finally approaching.