The MLS roster freeze on September 12th represented the last chance for clubs to make any changes to their rosters for the 2025 season.
Riqui Puig was a notable omission from the Galaxy’s final team list despite returning to training with the first team.
Puig is now officially unavailable for selection in any official match until the 2026 season.
Images of Riqui Puig returning to training with the first team shone a bright light on what’s been a dark and difficult season for the LA Galaxy.
Fans began dreaming of seeing their favorite Spaniard taking the pitch for the first time since tearing his ACL last November. The idea of watching Puig shake off the rust and show flashes of his talent would have been something of a reward to fans for having to experience what has been the worst MLS season in team history.
Unfortunately, not all dreams come true.
Riqui Puig was left off of the LA Galaxy’s final 2025 roster, meaning he will not be eligible to participate in the six remaining MLS matches or the upcoming Campeones Cup Final against Deportivo Toluca F.C. on October 1st.
The unpalatable truth is that Puig is and will not be fit enough to play before the season ends. His exclusion from the roster confirms that the doctors working on Puig’s recovery do not deem it safe for Puig to play until his healing has progressed further.
But what if Riqui Puig is technically fit enough to play, but the team decides not to play him this year as a method of preservation?
After all, Puig was the most fouled player in all of MLS last year. The danger even an injured Puig poses (as evidenced in the 2024 Western Conference final when he provided the game-winning assist with a torn ACL) would put an immediate target on his back the moment he steps back onto a field.
Riqui Puig’s game is also built upon sharp and quick movements, which a still-healing ligament would be less able to perform safely.
Would it have been worth jeopardizing Puig’s 2026 return for him to get some playing time in 2025?
Despite all the risks, the answer from a sporting perspective is a clear yes.
As Josh Guesman of Corner of the Galaxy put it, “there are mental and physical hurdles that can’t be cleared by just training. You want to start that clock when he’s ready. [It] may take him months to approach 100%. So you need to start as soon as practical.”
Receiving medical clearance to play is just step one in Puig’s return to form. He’ll then have to learn to re-trust his body and newly healed ACL to the point that he can move as freely and nimbly as he did pre-injury.
Once he’s able to move the way he wants, he’ll have to learn how to play within the Galaxy’s new system. Players like Mark Delgado, Gaston Brugman, and Dejan Joveljic have all left the club since Puig got injured. He’ll have to learn the habits and responsibilities of newcomers like Lucas Sanabria, Elijah Wynder, and Matheus Nascimento (if his loan from Botafogo is made permanent.
Many of these important steps on the road to recovery can be achieved in training, but there will still be ways to go until he can sharpen all these skills in real game minutes.
Anyone who’s played sports at any level knows that there is no way of truly replicating the gameday experience besides playing an official game. Scrimmages and even pre-season friendlies fail to replicate the intensity and stakes that come with even regular-season games.
Giving Riqui Puig minutes in 2025 would have been giving him the best possible pre-season.
Thanks to their position in the standings and already being out of the playoff picture, the LA Galaxy are currently in a unique position at the end of the season where their remaining MLS games are technically official matches, but the results of these games will hardly matter in any truly meaningful way.
While their rivals will be giving their all to claim maximum points during the final stretch of the season and claim a playoff spot, the LA Galaxy will be playing free of any real pressure, just like they would do during a pre-season game.
Puig would have been able to experience some of the intensity he’ll need to get back up to speed without having to worry about exerting himself too much or putting the team’s season in jeopardy.
He would have also had the chance to begin to learn how to play alongside his new teammates in real-game scenarios, a much more effective learning tool than drills in training.
Unfortunately, Riqui Puig was not deemed healthy enough to get these sorts of real-game experiences.
He’ll have to begin rebuilding his match sharpness at the start of the 2026 season.
This could have interesting implications as the Galaxy will not only be keen on having a much stronger start in the league in 2026, but will also be participating in the 2026 CONCACAF Champions Cup, which starts as early as February 3rd.
The pressure will be high as soon as the season kicks off, with both competitions starting practically simultaneously, meaning Puig will face the obligation to deliver at a high level right away, with only the pre-season matches offered by the Coachella Valley Invitational as a warm-up.
Not playing Riqui Puig if he is not healthy is without a doubt the correct decision for his recovery, but it also means that his return might not be as electric as Puig-starved fans may be expecting.
Missing out on the chance to regain match sharpness and begin the process of overcoming the mental and physical challenges that come with a return to a high level after a long-term injury in 2025 could result in Puig not having a blazing-hot start to the 2026 season.
He’ll have to build himself back up and learn the nuances of playing with a new-to-him team while also trying to carry the team to a strong start in the league and through the elite demands of continental competition.
The onus on Puig and the LA Galaxy at the start of 2026 will be immense, but that is always the case with a club of this caliber.
Both parties will be absolutely committed to making sure that 2025 is nothing more than a blip in a successful and trophy-laden story.
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