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City SC has had to navigate some tricky injury situations in the early going, and just when it has gotten past those, a new one has popped up.

Midfielder Eduard Lowen will miss Saturday’s game at the Los Angeles Galaxy with a hamstring injury. How much longer he might be out is still uncertain. Coach Bradley Carnell said Lowen left practice early Wednesday with the injury and would be reevaluated in two weeks, though the team is being careful not to put a timeline on his return. Last season, Lowen had a quadriceps injury that the team diagnosed as keeping him out for four to six weeks; he returned after four.

“We have a bunch of hungry guys and some good quality that we’ve shown previously,� Carnell said. “We’ve been through these things before. For sure, Edu is a big player around here, a big character. But we always rely on the collective, and everyone has the ability to step up if needed.�

Though Lowen has gotten off to a slow start to the season after missing two weeks of training camp while going home to Germany to complete the process of getting his green card, he’s been getting closer with each week. He scored his first goal of the season Saturday against Austin on a penalty kick.

Now there’s another wrench in the works and more time off the field.

“I feel definitely better, for sure,� he said after the 2-2 tie against Austin on Saturday. “But I knew that there was going to be a process. I knew that I have to be patient because, like, in the end of the day, it’s not only the training sessions, it’s especially the games, the minutes that you need to get back into the rhythms again and everything.�

City SC may get one midfielder back. Njabulo Blom has missed the past two weeks with a knee injury, but he has been back on the field this week working with the team; Carnell said his status for Saturday wasn’t certain yet.

City SC started the season with center backs Tim Parker and Joakim Nilsson both leaving games early with leg issues, Josh Yaro missing three games with a hamstring injury and Kyle Hiebert missing three games with a knee injury.

“We’re on the right track in terms of what we believe in,� Carnell said, “in terms of how we’re getting momentum and building momentum in the start of the season, and we’re trying to set up a platform to springboard us through the next couple of games, into the summer and hold that and be consistent with that. So that you have a casualty now and yeah, it’s a shame to lose good players and good people. But I think that’s just temporary. And we still have a hunger in the group. I think we still have a desire in the group and we still have a next-man-up mentality in the group. So we still have a lot to prove to ourselves. And we have a lot to prove to each other within these walls. And I think that just keeps driving us forward.�

Yaro, like Blom, has been back in practice this week, but a final decision on his status hasn’t been announced. Midfielder Indiana Vassilev has the cast off his broken right wrist but now has a splint on it, though it looks the same because it still requires padding when he plays.

Welcome to St. Louis

When tornado sirens went off Thursday morning, City SC right back Tomas Totland, who has lived most of his life in Norway, didn’t know what was going on.

“I thought something bad was going to happen, but I looked out the window and it wasn’t even raining, so I was wondering what it was. ... I thought my building was on fire first, but then I went outside and (the noise) was coming from the outside, so it was something else.�

He’s been warned to expect to hear them again.

“The players said in the summer it gets a lot worse,� said Totland, who stopped and smiled. “So I’m looking forward to that.�

Leagues Cup schedule set for City SC

The schedule has been set for City SC’s two games in Leagues Cup group play. It will face Dallas on Saturday, July 27, at CityPark and Mexican club FC Juarez on Sunday, Aug. 4, also at CityPark. Both matches will start at 8 p.m. Juarez, currently in last place in Liga MX, and Dallas play on Wednesday, July 31, so City SC’s second game will be against a club that played midweek.

City SC’s group is paired with a group consisting of Portland, Colorado and Mexican club Leon for the second round. Inter Miami is in the other half of the bracket, for those wondering about a possible matchup with Lionel Messi.

For many City SC fans, the Leagues Cup is an unwelcome event, as it’s seen as being one of the reasons for MLS having schedule congestion that has led to the league greatly reducing its involvement in the U.S. Open Cup tournament. City SC is not taking part in the Open Cup this season.