Will Josef Martinez make his return in Vancouver?

Tata confirmed Wednesday that Josef Martinez will travel with the team to Vancouver.

“He’s going to travel because we’re taking a charter flight this game, so all of the players that we’re considering we’re able to carry them,” Martino said through an interpreter.

That’s not bad news, but it doesn’t mean you should expect to see Josef on the field Saturday. Apparently, everyone else is going to Vancouver too.

But it also definitely doesn’t mean he’s not, not playing.

This loosely translates to “He returns.” I don’t know if Josef means that he’s been told he’s in the 18 Saturday or if he’s just happy to travel again.

Either way, Tata and co. are in no hurry to put him back on the field. “The important thing is we don’t want to rush him back. He’s already been out nine or ten weeks so the worst part is behind us. The worst thing would be to rush him back too soon,” Martino said.

Josef has obviously been working tirelessly to get back, doing everything from standard rehab to spinning in a machine like some kind of rocket man.

For the brief portion of training I saw yesterday, Josef was running, making cuts and shooting, although it wasn’t exactly full speed.

Tata says the team will make a decision on Martinez once the team is in Vancouver. Until then, we hurry up and wait I guess.

Elsewhere, Mark Bloom missed Wednesday’s practice with a virus of some kind. It’s unknown whether he’s traveling to Vancouver.

Jacob Peterson is improving and is likely a part of the group traveling to Vancouver, although odds are very slim he’ll be in the 18.

Andrew Carleton and Chris Goslin are with the U.S. U-17’s in Argentina for a team camp.