Jakob Glesnes and José Andres Martínez will be back for the Union, but how much will they play?

Glesnes, Martínez, and long-absent Leon Flach "are available for selection” vs. Atlanta, Jim Curtin said Tuesday. But he was intentionally coy about how much they could play Wednesday.

Jakob Glesnes (left) has missed the Union's last three games with a groin injury.Read moreYong Kim / Staff Photographer

by Jonathan Tannenwald

Published Oct. 3, 2023, 1:22 p.m. ET

Stalwart centerback Jakob Glesnes and defensive midfielders José Andrés Martínez and Leon Flach have recovered enough from their injuries to play in the Union’s game vs. Atlanta United on Wednesday at Subaru Park (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled). But Jim Curtin hid as much further detail as he could when he announced their availability in a news conference Tuesday.

“All three are available for selection,” Curtin said, “Happy to get them all back. We’ll have to decide who’s ready to start and who’s ready to come off the bench, but, outside of Leon, the other two haven’t missed a ton of game time, so they still were able to maintain fitness.”

Glesnes and Flach have been dealing with groin-area injuries that have threatened to mushroom into sports hernias. Glesnes has missed the Union’s last three games and Flach the last six.

“They’ve gotten two opinions, it’s a matter now of — they’re in a lot of pain, but it’s a matter of pain tolerance and navigating that and being smart,” Curtin said. “They’re getting treatment; they’re doing all the things they can. But it’s not something that’s going to all of a sudden wake up tomorrow and feel good, and it’s not something that can heal.”

The offseason is still at least six games away, up to nine if the Union return to the MLS Cup final. Fortunately, both players will get some time off after Saturday’s game against Nashville (7:30 p.m., Apple TV, paywalled), since a FIFA national team window starts after that.

“We’ll explore things in the offseason,” Curtin said, “but right now they’re ready to go and make a push down the stretch here in these last three [regular-season] games and then the playoffs.”

Martínez suffered a bone bruise in a knee while with Venezuela’s national team last month for the start of 2026 World Cup qualifying. He has missed the Union’s last three games. He will go to the Vinotinto again this month, as will Jesús Bueno, for two big games: Oct. 12 at Brazil and Oct. 17 at home vs. Chile. Before then, they have two big games with the Union.

“José picked up a knock with his national team, came back, and tried to play through it, had some struggles there,” Curtin said. “But [he] trained fully today and looked sharp.”

How much can he tolerate Wednesday, then?

“Is he quite ready to go out there and go 90 minutes? That might not be the case,” Curtin said. “But Bueno, in José’s absence, has stepped up and done a great job too. So we’ll find a way and have a plan in place to get through the 90 [minutes] in a smart way.”

Though the injured contingent will be available to play, Kai Wagner will be out because of a yellow card accumulation suspension. Matt Real is the leading candidate to start in Wagner’s place, but a left side of Real and Jack McGlynn might not be enough defense against Atlanta’s firepower: striker Giorgos Giakoumakis, winger Saba Lobjanidze, and Argentine World Cup-winning playmaker Thiago Almada.

Curtin signaled that Real and Nathan Harriel will start Wednesday, but he left the door open about how. Harriel has played left back before, so perhaps we could see him there and Real on the left side of the midfield diamond. Or another 3-5-2 with Harriel at right centerback, where he played well Saturday in Columbus, and Real at left wingback.

“There’s a decision to be made there — we’ll make the one that we think gives us the best chance to get points on the day,” Curtin said. “But I think both those guys … probably play a role [Wednesday] one way or the other.”