Minnesota United sorts through roster and injury updates ahead of Nashville trip

Minnesota United coach Adrian Heath and his very own MLS All-Stars Emanuel Reynoso and game MVP Dayne St. Clair go back to their day jobs on Sunday in Nashville.

Superstar scorers Carlos Vela and Chicharito have gone home to Los Angeles even after Heath suggested, "Well, you can leave them here if you want."

Nashville stars Walker Zimmerman and Hany Mukhtar return to the opponent's side without revealing any state secrets.

"I threatened Gary Smith I was going to keep them on for 90 and then if we went in penalties, run them after," Heath said, referring to Nashville's coach. "But that wasn't the case."

The Loons resume their regular season with 10 games remaining. They are in fourth place in the Western Conference, two points ahead of sixth-place Nashville.

They will do so with recently signed 23-year-old midfielder Jonathan Gonzalez aimed toward his first MLS action.

The Loons paid Colorado $50,000 in general-allocation money for his discovery rights and acquired him on loan from Monterrey in Mexico's Liga MX until season's end, with a club option to keep him beyond that.

Heath said Gonzalez will travel with the team to Nashville before they decide how much, or if, he'll play.

"We'll see where he is at," Heath said. "I think it'd be too much of a stretch for him to do 90 minutes."

Meanwhile, the Loons on Friday still waited for newly signed Colombian forward Mender Garcia to arrive. Heath said Garcia will travel to Nashville if he arrives before the team departs on Saturday.

Starting central midfielder Kervin Arriaga and midfielder Robin Lod are back from injuries and available to play, Heath said. So, too, is Reynoso, who sustained a "little tweak" in Wednesday's MLS All-Star Game.

Defensive midfielder and captain Wil Trapp is at least another week away, Heath said.

Heath wore a black arm band during Wednesday's All-Star Game in memory of childhood friend Alan Salt, who died that morning. Heath returned to England to visit him during a schedule break in late May.

"It was a tough day for me," Heath said after Friday's training. "When you lose your best friend who you've spoken to for 46, 47 years of your life, it's a big wrench. He has been really poorly of late. He's in a better place at the moment."

Heath praised his club's dedication to delivering four days of All-Star festivities at Allianz Field and all around town.

"As much as I enjoyed it, I was really proud of the football club," he said. "The skills challenge had four more times people coming to the stadium than they've had before. I know how hard the staff worked and it was a real thank you to the all ownership group who have continually supported the club."

• Heath said veteran right back Romain Metanire is set to return to France on Saturday to work with the same physiotherapists who have worked with him on such issues as the hamstring injuries that have limited him to one game played this season.

• Heath on St. Clair's All-Star Game MVP performance after last week's shaky 4-3 loss at Colorado: "Although it was only 30 minutes, I think it was an important 30 minutes for him. The fact he did well and come up with a couple big saves and the response of the crowd … I think people realized it wasn't his best weekend. But it did not really dent his confidence."