LA Galaxy star Landon Donovan hopes Osvaldo Alonso is fit for this weekend's Western Conference final first leg.
The Seattle Sounders midfielder injured his hamstring in the Conference semi-final against FC Dallas two weeks ago and remains a doubt for the StubHub Center meeting with the Galaxy on Sunday.
Alonso's absence would make life difficult for the Galaxy midfield but Donovan is adamant he wants the four-time club MVP to be present this weekend.
"Ozzie makes them a very good team," Donovan said.
"He is unquestionably their engine, and he's really their leader. When you take him off the field, they're affected pretty severely, we know that.
"We hope he plays," Donovan added. "We know he hasn't trained all week, so it's looking less and less likely that he will play, but we're going to prepare as if he's playing, and we want him to play.
"If we're going to win, we want to beat the best team."
