The Union return from two weeks off, and Leon Flach returns from a long injury absence

After a bye last weekend, the Union return to action Saturday with a home game against Real Salt Lake (7:30 p.m., Apple TV).

The Union haven’t played a home game in nearly a month and now will play four of their next five contests at Subaru Park. That’s a big opportunity for a team that’s already the last unbeaten club in Major League Soccer this year, with the best points-per-game average in the Eastern Conference, even though all the other teams have played more.

“It feels like it’s been forever since we’ve been here in Subaru Park, so it’s obviously great to be back,” manager Jim Curtin said at his weekly news conference Friday. “We’ve had a good two-week balance of rest and recovery and also some really hard work from the guys. Got to integrate some younger academy guys into the group last week — [it] was nice to see a lot of them up close and reward them for the great things that they’ve done, winning the [under-17 Generation Adidas] Cup.”

The time off allowed star goalkeeper Andre Blake to mostly heal the groin injury he suffered in the Union’s last game, at Atlanta on April 14. But it’s not clear yet whether he’ll be able to play Saturday. The league’s injury report Friday evening called him questionable. (Damion Lowe is, too, with an ankle issue, and Markus Anderson is out with a minor quad injury.)

“Andre was able to train fully today,” Curtin said. “We’ll have to see how his body responds to that, and we’ll probably meet in about 20 minutes and see exactly where he’s at. But everything looked like Andre today, which was really good.”

» READ MORE: The Union want to expand Subaru Park, but know it won’t be easy: ‘We want to be better, bigger’

The break also was enough time for midfielder Leon Flach to finish recovering from the torn pectoral muscle he suffered in the preseason. He’ll be available to play for the first time this year, bringing the midfield a welcome dose of defensive bite.

“That’s a real weapon for us, and it’s like picking up a new player,” Curtin said. “A lot earlier than maybe I anticipated, and maybe even Leon anticipated. Looked great in training this week — obviously, still, the live minutes are different and unique, and I can’t replicate them in training perfectly.”

For now, Curtin said, Flach will “be available off the bench to help us close out a game, and he’ll probably be back starting sooner rather than later.”

Real Salt Lake isn’t a team that usually gets Union fans’ hearts racing, but this squad deserves attention. It’s third in the Western Conference (4-2-3, 15 points), with some major firepower in veteran striker Cristian “Chicho” Arango and young winger Diego Luna.

The Union know Arango plenty from the Los Angeles FC team that beat them in the 2022 championship game. But while the 29-year-old Colombian is the league’s top scorer this year with eight goals, he isn’t just a finisher. Arango has diversified his game this year, with six assists — a total tied for the league lead with Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi and the New York Red Bulls’ Dante Vanzeir.

» READ MORE: Mikael Uhre answered his critics with a goal vs. Atlanta, and was narrowly denied another

Curtin got to scout Arango in person last weekend when he flew to Chicago, a city he called home for years as a player, to watch RSL thump the woeful Fire, 4-0. Arango had two goals and assist, with the scores coming in one four-minute stretch of the first half.

“For me, he’s playing at an MVP level,” Curtin said. “He’s not just going to stay in between the centerbacks. His movement is really, really good. He’s faster than people realize. He runs with the ball, can now play a final pass that I see as a real weapon, and obviously still has the killer instinct inside the box.”

Luna, a 20-year-old Californian, could join the Union’s Jack McGlynn and Nathan Harriel (and Union alumnus Paxten Aaronson) on the U.S. men’s Olympic team this summer. He played with McGlynn, Brandan Craig, and Quinn Sullivan at last year’s FIFA under-20 World Cup.

Though Luna doesn’t have many goals or assists yet, he’s got the kind of creative vision you know when you see it, and Curtin has seen it.

“I’ve seen him play with a Jack McGlynn, and I see those guys as players [who] have a different kind of soccer IQ,” he said. “They see the game differently than everybody else, and sometimes they probably get frustrated because they see a pass that maybe nobody else sees, and they’re special individuals.”

» READ MORE: The Union's new brew hall and tailgate zone near Subaru Park will open Saturday