In case anyone thought that contracting Covid-19 would buy Raúl Ruidíaz a reprieve from national team duty, he’s been named to Peru’s roster for a pair of World Cup qualifiers in November.
While probably not the ideal way to prepare for playoff matches, this call-up shouldn’t force Ruidíaz to miss any additional Sounders matches. Peru’s games will be played on Nov. 13 (at Chile) and Nov. 17 (vs. Argentina) and the Sounders aren’t expected to play their first playoff game until the weekend of Nov. 28-29. Even if Ruidíaz needs to do a nine-day quarantine — which might not be necessary as he should still have Covid-19 antibodies — he’d still be back in training a day or two before the Sounders play.