Emanuel Reynoso remains away; Minnesota United cites personal reasons

Minnesota United star Emanuel Reynoso on Thursday remained home in Argentina and away from his MLS club, which is in its second week of preseason training.

"At this time, we understand that he is dealing with personal matters. We will provide an update when we have more to share," a team statement said.

Loons coach Adrian Heath declined to answer a question in a video conference call from Florida training about whether Reynoso's absence is related to legal issues stemming from a December 2021 arrest in Argentina.

"We provided a statement, and that's all we're going to attend to at this time," a team spokesperson told reporters on the call.

Veteran defender Kemar Lawrence also remains at home, in Jamaica, attending to what the team statement called a "personal matter."

"In an ideal world we would have everybody back and in market and working with the rest of the group," Heath said. "At this moment in time for them, they've got issues that they need to sort out. We'll respect that. Hopefully, they'll get here sooner rather than later."

The team last week indicated Reynoso was awaiting immigration paperwork unrelated to his legal issues in Argentina and expected him to arrive any day after he was absent for the start of preseason training on Jan. 9.

At the time, Heath said Reynoso had been cleared by MLS and the club to participate in team training and activities.

"As far as we're concerned, it's as you were, normal," Heath said last week.

Reynoso's hometown newspaper La Voz reported late last month he is facing a potential trial in Cordoba for a December 2021 arrest in which he was accused of making threats with a gun and beating a 16-year-old minor with it.

The Loons beat New York City FC 1-0 in their preseason opener Wednesday near Orlando. They'll play two more preseason friendlies there and will play three more in an MLS tournament next month in Indio, Calif. They open their 2023 season at FC Dallas on Feb. 25.

"If there is a plus point of this, it's we have a longer preseason than usual so we've got a bit more time to hopefully get them in," Heath said about Reynoso and Lawrence.

Heath confirmed his club has a deal, not yet announced, to acquire 21-year-old center back Mikael Marques at a position in need of depth and youth.

"He has really come to the fore this last year," Heath said. "There was a lot of interest in him. Our Scandinavian scouts have been really impressed with him: athletic, can play right back also, has played defensive midfield. He has all the tools. We had to move quickly."

The Loons have room to sign another player to MLS' Under-22 initiative, Heath said.

Heath on reports that South Korean striker Cho Gue-sung has turned down Minnesota United and teams in Scotland and Germany to stay at home for now: "It's still ongoing. I spoke to people this morning about it. We haven't given up completely on that one. … We've got other things going on, but as far as we're concerned, I don't know if it's dead yet."

Heath called Wednesday's preseason victory a "typical opening friendly, a lot of people running around, a lot of enthusiasm. I don't think the soccer was great from both teams."

Loons 2022 first-round pick Tani Oluwaseyi scored the goal in a 1-0 victory over NYCFC. He has impressed in preseason so far after an injury-riddled season a year ago. The Loons will play Philadelphia and Orlando in Florida before they come home in early February.

Heath acknowledged the sudden death of Charlotte FC's Anton Walkes in a Miami boating accident Thursday while the team trains in the Fort Lauderdale-Miami area. Walkes and Heath's son Harrison knew each other from their time together in Atlanta.

"We send our condolences to the family," Heath said. "Tragic news, such a young boy, everything ahead of him, young family. … I spoke to my son this morning, and he was really upset. It puts everything in a little bit of perspective this morning."