Lalo Fernandez is expected to sign with the Liga MX club Tigres, according to multiple Mexican news outlets.
Real Salt Lake’s third-string goalkeeper already has gone through the team’s medical and physical tests, as reported by ESPN.
“Nothing’s been set, if anything is to be set,” RSL coach Mike Petke said at training Tuesday morning, “so there’s nothing really to report right now.”
Tuesday is the last day of Mexico’s transfer window, so all paperwork would have to be finalized before the end of the day for Fernandez to transfer from RSL to the Mexican club.
Fernandez, one of eight homegrown players on RSL’s squad, signed with Real Salt Lake in 2012. The Guadalajara native has played on the youth level for both the U.S. and Mexican national teams.
Fernandez has yet to make a first-team MLS appearance over six seasons with RSL.
Injury update
Center back Marcelo Silva (hamstring) is on track to return for Saturday’s match at Vancouver. He had to sub out of RSL’s Aug. 19 match at Montreal in the sixth minute due to injury and has missed two games since.
“I’m expecting him back in to practice full tomorrow, but anything could change over the rest of the day,” Petke said. “But he’s progressing well.”
Forward Chad Barrett (knee) continues to inch toward a return. He tweeted that he had his six-month MRI on Friday after undergoing surgery in April to repair a left knee femoral chondral defect and a trochlear defect.
6 month MRI today. Had it circled on the calendar since I learned of my Chondral Defect. If all goes well, I'll be back running on the field
— Chad Barrett (@CBarrett19) September 1, 2017
Barrett is scheduled to receive the MRI results Wednesday, he said, which will determine whether he is ready to return to running on the field.
Forward Luis Silva worked out with RSL athletic trainer Tyson Pace on Tuesday, but Petke said they just were taking precautionary measures. He said he expects Luis Silva to be healthy for Saturday’s match.
RSL struggled to weather a rough stretch of injuries, suspensions and international call-ups early in the season, but it has won its past two matches with key pieces missing.
Starting defenders Marcelo Silva and Demar Phillips (hamstring) were sidelined in both RSL’s 4-0 win over San Jose and its 4-1 victory against Colorado. Captain Kyle Beckerman was suspended for the Colorado match due to yellow card accumulation.
Forward Brooks Lennon said the difference is largely a change in mentality.
“I think early on in the season we had so many injuries and we were kind of scrambling on options,” he said. “... But now I think we’re such a tight group and we know our eventual goal, and that’s to get into the playoffs. So whoever goes down, the next man’s ready to step up, and we’ve been training like that every day.”