Real Salt Lake Captain Albert Rusnák Available To Return For Western Conference Final

SALT LAKE CITY – Real Salt Lake captain Albert Rusnák will be available to return for this weekend’s clash against the Portland Timbers for the Western Conference Final.

Rusnák tested positive for COVID-19 on Sunday, November 21st, two days prior to the first round of the MLS playoff match. Since then, he has consequently missed the playoff fixtures against Seattle and Sporting Kansas City.

🚨EXCLUSIVE🚨

I spoke to Albert Rusnák earlier today where he gave me insight into how his battle with COVID-19 has been, the timeline of events that led to his positive test result and the heartache and exhilaration of watching #RSL from afar.
👇👇👇https://t.co/6DotA8YmJN

— Tom Hackett (@TomCantHackett) November 24, 2021

Fortunately, Real Salt Lake has provided Rusnák with another opportunity to don the Claret and Cobalt kit at least one more time in 2021.

Immediately following the victory against Sporting, interim manager Pablo Mastroeni was seen video calling Rusnák from the sideline.

“Amazing, right? We’re waiting for you pal,” Mastroeni told Rusnák. “I told you we were going to do it, we were going to wait to have you back brother,” he added.

Prior to the postseason, Rusnák broke a club record by playing 3,045 minutes throughout the regular season. He only missed 15 minutes of potential playing time through 34 games.

Now, he will return to the team he loves as Real Salt Lake fights for a place in the MLS Cup final.

KSL Sports spoke to Rusnák prior to the Sporting clash where he told Tom Hackett that he is not worried about his fitness levels following the bout with COVID-19.

“I am not worried about my fitness. I have just been resting the past couple of days because my body needs it. But as the days go by I will start to move around more. If the guys can win on Sunday, I will have three or four training sessions before the conference finals and that will be plenty given how much playing time I have played already this year.”

Next Match Info

Real Salt Lake will travel to Portland for the Western Conference Final this upcoming Saturday, December 4th, with kickoff scheduled for 4:30 p.m.