There was a little bit of good news that came out of the Seattle Sounders camp on Thursday. Head Coach Sigi Schmid joined the team during training. Schmid had not been with the team since last Friday after he went to the hospital for “health related issues”. Assistant coach Brian Schmetzer filled in for Schmid and led the team to a 2-1 win over Toronto FC.

The Sounders had been rather tight lipped about the issue and rightfully so. This past Tuesday, Schmetzer had this to say in regards to when Sigi may be back; "That is a question I can't answer, partly because I don't know and more importantly that's up to Sigi and the people in the front office. What's important to me is that Sigi gets back to full health, that's paramount. The messaging and whatever happens that's up to Sigi and the front office."

Garth Lagerwey also offered little information about Sigi and when he may or may not be back; "As you can imagine, there are medical privacy issues around this stuff when it’s health-related. My answer has to be that Sigi will address this if he chooses to. We are hopeful that he will be back and, again, there’s no pressure. It’s when he feels good, when he’s healthy, then he’ll come back. That’s what we’re hoping for, that he comes back 100 percent and happy and with everything in order."

It’s good to see Sigi back at training, but he will not be making the trip this weekend to the Bay Area. The Sounders take on the San Jose Earthquakes Saturday night. Kickoff is scheduled for 10pm EST.

Here is what Schmid had to say regarding his absence; "Early Saturday morning I had health issue that required me to go the hospital. They kept me in the hospital until Tuesday. The details of it is for me and my family. I've gotten the OK from here. I feel good. This is what I love doing and what I'm still capable of doing.”

If Schmetzer does fill in as expected, this will be the sixth time that he has done so in the Sounders seven years in Major League Soccer. This year he is 1-1, the one loss coming against the Earthquakes way back in Week 2.

Best wishes to Sigi and his family. Get well and we look forward to seeing you back pitch side soon.