Andre Blake will be back for the Union vs. Pachuca, but Julián Carranza might be out

Goalkeeper Andre Blake is set to return to the Union’s starting lineup for Tuesday’s Concacaf Champions Cup round of 16 opener against Mexico’s Pachuca at Subaru Park (7 p.m., FS2 and Univision’s ViX streaming platform). But striker Julián Carranza, just as much of a star these days, will be a game-time decision because of a thigh injury he suffered last week.

Blake has missed the Union’s last three games with a groin injury suffered during the team’s year-opening visit to Costa Rica’s Saprissa. He spent the open portion of Monday’s practice fielding shots from colleagues Oliver Semmle, Andrew Rick, and Holden Trent.

Rick, the top goalkeeper prospect in the academy pipeline, has been elevated to No. 3 on the first-team depth chart for now as Trent deals with surgery on a finger injury he suffered last year.

The Union will need every bit of Blake’s heroics on Tuesday, because centerbacks Jack Elliott and Damion Lowe are suspended. Elliott got a red card in the first-round Concacaf series finale vs. Saprissa, and Lowe got a yellow card in each of the two contests.

Pachuca is one of Mexico’s best teams, currently in a three-way tie for first place with usual powers Monterrey and Cruz Azul. Los Tuzos have scored a league-best 24 goals through 10 games of the spring half of Liga MX’s campaign. Even if the Union was at full strength, they’d still be underdogs in the matchup — by less of a margin for sure, but by enough.

» READ MORE: Jim Curtin calls out the Union’s ‘really small brains’ in too-wild series finale vs. Saprissa

“I think Oliver did a great job in [Blake’s] absence,” Union manager Jim Curtin said at a news conference after practice. “I think we learned a lot about Oliver, and it gave him a taste of those first-team minutes, which is important early in the season. But obviously, it’s great to have the best goalkeeper in our league back behind us now.”

Carranza was not at practice, which obviously wasn’t a great sign. Curtin said he felt muscle tightness late in last Tuesday’s series finale vs. Saprissa. The Argentine didn’t play in Saturday’s 1-1 tie at Sporting Kansas City, but that wasn’t surprising because the Union played a heavily-rotated lineup.

“Julián is going to be close — it’ll be kind of a game-time decision,” Curtin said. “You’re finding the balance of obviously playing against a high-quality opponent in Pachuca in a very, very big game at home; balancing it being the first leg [of the series]; and not risking further injury. So we have a decision to make.”

Carranza dealt with a similar problem last year, too, when it was the first major muscle injury of his career.

“It was something where last year he pushed through, and maybe did further damage,” Curtin said. “This year, knowing his body a little bit better … he was a little more proactive. So I don’t think it’s serious, I don’t think it’s long-term, but we also don’t want to have it be a reoccurring thing.”

» READ MORE: Julián Carranza’s dazzling hat trick in the Saprissa series opener is a reminder of what makes a big-time striker

If Carranza can’t go, presumably either newcomer Markus Anderson would get the call, or Quinn Sullivan would move back up from midfield to the front.

Anderson has been a lively presence in his appearances so far, especially the Saprissa finale. Sullivan has been even better, with a goal, two assists, and numerous chances created in four games.

Mikael Uhre, who seems certain to start Tuesday, sat next to Curtin at the podium and had a hearty answer to a question about getting to know Anderson.

“Obviously, he’s brought something to the group,” Uhre said. “He has a great explosion, he has some speed, but also some good touches and good cutting abilities in his dribbling. … As Jim often says to us, it’s our job to make him feel welcome and make him feel a part of the team as quick as possible, and I feel like he’s stepped into that really well and the guys have taken care of him.”

Curtin also confirmed that midfielder José Andrés Martínez is fine after slipping on the ball in Kansas City and falling awkwardly. He left the game at halftime as a precaution. He looked at full strength Monday.

» READ MORE: Goalkeeper Oliver Semmle hasn’t been perfect, but he’s been good enough in his first Union games

The Union’s schedule gets no easier after Tuesday. They’ll host the star-studded Seattle Sounders on Saturday (7:30 p.m., Apple TV), then visit Pachuca next Tuesday and Austin FC the following Saturday.

That will surely necessitate more squad rotation, and you’d think Tai Baribo would get a look at striker at some point. But he has barely gotten a sniff of the field this year, and really at all since joining the Union last summer. Even if a three-week injury absence during the preseason didn’t help, his lack of playing time at all is notable for a player the Union bought for a $1.5 million transfer fee and a $701,000 salary.

It turned out to be good timing to ask about that. Curtin said Baribo went to his office Monday to have a meeting with the boss.

“Obviously, every striker and every player wants to be playing minutes,” Curtin said. “We don’t want players that are happy to not be starting and be involved. We had a good, healthy discussion.”

It sounds like Curtin hasn’t been thrilled with what he has seen from Baribo in practice.

“We talked about now doing it more consistently every day in training,” Curtin said. “I think we’ll have a good response from Tai to fight his way up that depth chart. But I say it all the time: The game and training tells the truth, and the guys that we pick on the weekend are the ones that we think give us the best chance to win.”

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre and Quinn Sullivan’s growing chemistry could be a big help for the Union