Red Bulls make decision on star Lewis Morgan’s availability

Red Bulls fans can breathe a sigh of relief going into Saturday’s historic playoff match against New York City FC. 

Head coach Sandro Schwarz told reporters on Thursday that star forward Lewis Morgan will be available for the club when they play their biggest rival in the 30th iteration of Hudson River Derby, with a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals on the line. 

Morgan, the Red Bulls’ leading goal scorer during the regular season, did not play for the Scottish national team during the international break and there was some concern if he would be able to play on Saturday. 

“He’s able to play,” Schwarz bluntly said before adding that Morgan had taken part in the Red Bulls’ last two training sessions. 

Morgan had not taken part in any training since the Red Bulls eliminated the Columbus Crew back on Nov. 3, AMNewYork reported.

Schwarz nor the Red Bulls had revealed what was bothering Morgan, rather the head coach suggested it had more to do with his recent workload. 

Morgan is coming off a 2023 season where he was limited to just five games due to a number of injuries. 

“It was a long season for him, and after his long-term injury and development, he played a lot of games,” Schwarz said about Morgan, who had played in three matches in the Nations League and a game in the Euros in France for Scotland along with his MLS slate. 

“He also played with the national team during the summer break, during our Leagues Cup. He then had the European Championships with Scotland. With all those travels, it is not easy to handle it every time, because he played in a very good spot and also a lot of game minutes. … He’s in a good spot the last two team training sessions and hopefully nothing happens tomorrow. And then everything is hopefully ready on Saturday.”

The Red Bulls will be playing for a chance to advance to the Eastern Conference Finals of the MLS Cup Playoffs for the first time since 2018. 

Morgan will be a big part of any hope the Red Bulls have to topple NYCFC, who swept the Red Bulls during the regular season. 

The Scottish striker added seven assists during the regular season and had been named MLS Comeback Player of the Year because of his stellar 2024. 

The 28-year-old has yet to find the back of the net in the postseason.