RENTON — Sounders center back Jackson Ragen will be out 4-to-6 weeks with a right hamstring injury.
The incident happened late in the first half against FC Dallas last week. Ragen was replaced at halftime by Kim Kee-hee. The latter helped Seattle limit Dallas to three shots in the second half to close out a 1-0 win at Toyota Stadium.
Ragen is among the more reliable players on the Sounders roster. He’s missed three MLS matches the past two seasons combined and was a finalist for the league’s Defender of the Year award last season.
When paired with center back Yeimar, Ragen is often on ball to get Seattle’s attack going from the back. He leads the team with 93% passing this season, which is among the top 20 in the league for defenders who’ve played at least five matches.
“Jackson’s calling card is his ability to make the right pass, not just the technical piece of the pass,” Sounders coach Brian Schmetzer said. “So, we’ll miss him.”
Kim or Jon Bell are likely to replace Ragen when the Sounders (2-3-3) host Nashville SC (4-3-1) on Saturday at Lumen Field.
Ragen’s injury comes at a time when the Sounders are trying to tighten their defending after a porous start among the backline of three. Nouhou and Yeimar conceded own goals in MLS competitions while Ragen had a slip that ultimately allowed a goal off a free kick.
Nouhou feels the grimy win against Dallas will be the team’s turnaround.
“If you win one, you’re going to win two,” he said. “We finally kept a clean sheet [and] we scored a goal, so that means a lot for the group.”
Bell is typically a reserve fullback, be he replaced Ragen in the starting lineup last year. Kim signed in February for his second stint with the Sounders, last playing in the 2019 MLS Cup win against Toronto FC at Lumen.
The Korean international played the past five seasons in his country’s top-flight league. Saturday’s 45 minutes were his first of the season.
“He’s such a good player,” Nouhou said of Kim, adding that Bell scored a goal when he started in place of Yeimar last year in a win against St. Louis City.
Kim’s experience and need to get minutes gave him the edge to sub on for Ragen against Dallas. He played with Nouhou and keeper Stefan Frei during his first run with the Sounders from 2018-19.
But defender Alex Roldan was a deep reserve at the time and Yeimar didn’t sign with Seattle until 2020.
“That little bit of leadership from a veteran player certainly is good,” Schmetzer said of Kim. “He’s got a few more miles on him, a few more years on him, but he still looks good. When I was reffing the game here [at training Wednesday], he was communicative, talking, which is a little bit different than before. He was a little more quiet. He had Chad Marshall and Román [Torres] to play with, so maybe he didn’t need to be that loud. He’s been great.”
Attack returns
Designated players Jordan Morris (adductor) and Albert Rusnák (adductor) and Roldan (quad) were part of full training the past two days and are expected to play Saturday. Rusnák and Roldan only missed the Dallas match while Morris has been out since March 11.
The Sounders were able to get a goal from backup forward Danny Musovski last week. It was their second in five matches without Morris, who’s the club’s all-time leading scorer.
Morris leads the team with three goals in MLS play this season. Rusnák has two goals and three assists in league competitions.
Kent update
Schmetzer confirmed winger Ryan Kent received his work visa and he could be part of the gameday roster Saturday. If the Englishman were to play, it would be his first minutes since July 2024 due to a falling out with the front office of Turkish powerhouse Fenerbahçe.
Kent was signed last month to replace Paul Arriola, who’s out with a season-ending knee injury.
“He was training in a gym and on his own and the last six months have been tough on him,” Schmetzer said of Kent. “I listen and he’s happy to be back on the grass.
“I’m going to manage expectations here. He hasn’t played a significant amount of games in the last couple of years. For him to get back up to where he was like he was with [Scottish side] Rangers [from 2018-23] and all the highlights that we see, it’s going to take him a bit. But he’s working hard.”