Kai Wagner will be back for the Union in their big Champions League game at Atlas

Kai Wagner will return to action for the Union in their Concacaf Champions League quarterfinal road game at Mexico’s Atlas, manager Jim Curtin confirmed Tuesday afternoon.

“Kai is fully healthy and fit, and ready to go and ready to help,” Curtin said in a news conference from Guadalajara, site of the fabled old Estadio Jalisco where the Union will play Wednesday night (8 p.m., FS1, TUDN).

Curtin wouldn’t reveal whether Wagner will start, not wanting to show his cards to the opponent. But what he said made the point well enough. If Wagner is fully healthy, he’ll almost certainly play.

The only injury concern is centerback Damion Lowe, who tweaked a hamstring in practice last Friday. It’s relatively minor, but bad enough that he missed Saturday’s loss at FC Cincinnati.

» READ MORE: Matt Real and Nathan Harriel covered left back for the Union while Kai Wagner was out

Curtin said Lowe “made some good progress” Tuesday and the staff would “check in with him later today to see if he’s available to at least help us, maybe, as well — which would be a big boost to our group.”

The Union take a 1-0 advantage into the back half of the series after winning at home last Wednesday. Having a lead is always better than not, and the fact that the Union didn’t concede is a big help when the first tiebreaker is goals scored on the road. But it’s a narrow margin, and Atlas showed in the round of 16 that its attack can explode at home.

After losing at Honduras’ Olimpia in the first game, 4-1, the Guadalajara club roared back at home in the second game with a 4-0 rout for a 5-4 aggregate win.

The Union know Atlas forwards Julián Quiñones and Julio Furch can go off at any time, even with key centerback Anderson Santamaría and midfielder Brian Lozano suspended.

» READ MORE: Jack McGlynn seized his chance to shine against Atlas in a too-rare start

“Obviously we fought very hard to get a 1-0 lead, but we also understand that a 1-0 lead is not a safe lead when you come and play in a difficult place like Guadalajara, against a quality opponent like Atlas,” Curtin said. “We have to be smart in how we approach the game, but we have to be brave as well. The importance of us scoring an away goal in this competition is very significant, is huge, and in some ways can be the best defense.”

He called on his players “to be proactive and aggressive rather than reactive,” and laid the math out in simple terms: “If we score a goal at any moment during the 90 [minutes of action], they have to score three.”

Forward Julián Carranza echoed those sentiments. He’ll have a big role to play in the matter as a scorer and high-presser on the front line.

“We did get a good result at home,” he said. “We’re going to try to execute what we’ve planned, to get the result we want, but we’re not going to get desperate for a goal. We’re going to play like we do every game: if the goal comes, that’s welcome, but if it doesn’t, we’ll keep working to keep the clean sheet.”

Staff writer Andrea Canales contributed to this report.