RENTON — Advertisements stripped across the exterior of King County Metro busses were the hardest part. Seemingly everywhere Jordan Morris looked for a month, there was a bus with a FIFA men’s Club World Cup ad featuring his face.
Cool, except Morris knew he was unlikely to dress for the Sounders in three group-stage matches due to a hamstring injury.
“You drive around and see yourself on the bus, you want to be out there playing,” Morris said of the promotions around his hometown.
“This has been one of the toughest parts of my career in terms of missing this tournament,” Morris continued. “So much of the excitement around this year was this tournament. When the setback happened and I realized I wasn’t going to play; it’s been a tough couple of weeks, couple of months, for sure.”
Morris, who was part of the 2022 CONCACAF Champions Cup winning team that qualified Seattle for the global showcase, officially played three minutes in the Sounders’ final Group B match.
The forward subbed on for midfielder Obed Vargas with his team trailing PSG by two goals. Morris quickly found an attempt deep in the box, but PSG captain Marquinhos slid in for an impressive block.
Morris’ left-footed shot is a good indicator his leg is feeling good again.
He initially injured his left hamstring during a Champions Cup match against Cruz Azul in Mexico on March 11. After missing five MLS matches, including one due to adductor injury, Morris played 28 minutes in a win against Nashville and was a second-half sub on the road against Colorado.
But on a long run in the 90th minute, Morris reinjured the hamstring and missed another six league matches. Sounders staff thought he could get some playing time during a road match against Vancouver earlier this month, thus making it possible to play in the CWC, then Morris suffered a third setback in training.
“I’ve never really had reinjuries like this, so it’s been tough mentally, physically,” Morris said after his cameo against the French power, which won their first UEFA Champions League title in May. “I’m just happy to be back with the group and glad I was able to get back onto the field in this tournament.”
Morris and teammate Paul Arriola agreed last winter to dye their hair platinum blonde for the CWC. Coincidentally, Arriola suffered a season-ending knee injury in the Cruz Azul match.
The U.S. internationals stuck with the plan despite the injuries. It was a good shake-up for Morris, who said he also leaned into being a father to his son Theo, who’ll turn two in September, and husband to Eliza.
“I’ve had a couple big injuries in my career,” said Morris, who tore both ACLs. “Coming out of those, the mental side is by far the hardest part. You get through the physical stuff; you’ve been doing that your whole life. But getting through that mentally is the toughest part, and this is a new one for me.
“Being so close to being back on the field and having it get taken away, again …[Theo] puts a lot into perspective. When you go home, he doesn’t care if I’m on the field or if I’m off the field. I’m just Dad to him. It might sound like a cliché answer, but it’s so true. Ever since he was born, I’m able to just kind of forget about life at the [training] facility, life on the field. That’s super important during these mentally tough times.”
Complicating the mental aspect is Morris’ electric start to the season. He broke Raúl Ruidíaz’s record to become the Sounders’ all-time leading goal-scorer (87) and was helping the attack generate offense.
Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer had to pause multiple times during CWC interviews to not fantasize too much about how his team would perform if they had their designated player. Seattle had a combined 10 shots on target in losses to South American champion Botafogo (2-1) and Spanish titan Atlético Madrid (3-1).
The Sounders needed to defeat PSG by a three-goal margin to advance and didn’t have a single shot on frame. But Morris saw the possibilities for when his team resumes MLS competitions Saturday.
“Incredible,” Morris said of his team’s CWC performance. “It shows the level we can play at. We’re competing against the best teams in the world. Botafogo, we could’ve won that game for sure and Atlético could’ve been different. [PSG], they dominated lots of the game, but we had some good chances. We held our own 100%.”
Schmetzer said after training Thursday that Morris will be on a minutes restriction. Seattle (7-6-5) will host Austin FC (7-7-5) at Lumen Field.
“That short cameo shows how dangerous he is,” Schmetzer said. “He lifted the crowd, lifted the team. We’re happy to have him back.”
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