Kirovski, Gray on bench for tonight’s game

Talk about throwing guys into the fire. I’ve been told that both Jovan Kirovski and Kelly Gray will be available as substitutues for tonight’s game. While that might seem to be rushing things a little bit, the fact that both Peguero Jean Philippe and Gavin Glinton are injured means that what little depth the Quake had up top is nearly gone. With Kei Kamara leaving for international duty next week, it might be worth seeing what the one-time “Savior of American Soccer” has to offer.

Other tidbits:

– Ivan Guerrero will miss the next three weeks on international duty with Honduras. The Catrachos have a friendly next Wednesday against Venezuela followed by a World Cup qualifier on June 4 against Puerto Rico, another friendly against Haiti on June 7, and the second leg against Puerto Rico on June 14. For that reason, my original prediction that Ramiro Corrales will move to left back will have to wait a while. If he goes anywhere, it will probably be left midfield.

– There is growing concern that newly acquired Peguero Jean Philippe may never return to a level that will make him a steady contributor in San Jose. As of Tuesday, Jean Philippe was still being limited to off-field workouts. Following Thursday’s game against Houston, the Quakes are off until they play Real Salt Lake on May 31. If Jean Philippe is not back in full training by then, I’d say “growing concern” will have morphed into “near certainty.”

– Spoke briefly with Jay Ayres at Tuesday’s practice, and he’s healing pretty well from the broken cheekbone he suffered in the Open Cup game against Real Salt Lake. Ayres has begun physical activity on a stationary bike and reported no headaches or other post-concussion-like symptoms. The 6-8 week timetable looks realistic. He also said that he can’t wait to back on the field, a remarkable attitude to have after everything he has been through.