Union’s Andrew Wooten may finally play Saturday vs. New England; Revolution star Carles Gil likely out

Union forward Andrew Wooten might see game action for the first time since October if things go according to plan, manager Jim Curtin said Thursday, ahead of Saturday’s MLS tournament round of 16 game against the New England Revolution (10:30 p.m., ESPN2 and ESPN Deportes).

Wooten has been dealing with an unspecified “upper leg strain” for a while, according to the league’s injury report. He has been close to being ready for a while, Curtin said, but hasn’t gotten off the bench.

“We were going to put him in at the very end of the game in our last match against Orlando,” as a replacement for Kacper Przybylko, Curtain said. But Matt Real subbed for Brenden Aaronson at left wing instead, to stretch that part of the field.

Wooten joined the Union last summer as a fairly high-profile signing after scoring 17 goals in 31 games during the 2018-19 German second division season. He has played only nine games here and has yet to score. He’s too good a player to not end the drought eventually, but the wait has been long.

On Tuesday morning, the Union and Orlando scrimmaged with players who didn’t get in Monday night, and Wooten played 25 minutes. Curtin said he liked what he saw.

“I would say he’s good for 20 to 25 minutes to help us” against New England, Curtin said, “which is a good option to have on our bench.”

Backup winger Michee Ngalina is also ready to play after dealing with a leg injury, Curtin said.

Sergio Santos will likely start again Saturday, though Curtin indicated that the Brazilian still might not be ready for a full-game shift. That’s understandable considering the poundings Santos has taken from opposing defenders in the tournament.

“Our full group is available, and we’re going to need them all going into not just this game but the future of the season, whatever that looks like,” Curtin said.

For New England, playmaker Carles Gil, last season’s MLS newcomer of the year, is “unlikely to play” because of a left-foot injury, manager Bruce Arena said .

Gil started in the Revolution’s first two tournament games, a 1-0 win over Montreal — assisting on the goal — and a 1-1 tie against D.C. He didn’t play in the group-stage finale against Toronto, and ESPN reported that he was wearing a walking boot.