Vancouver beat Seattle 5-1 with Müller on the bench. They could meet again on Nov. 22

The last time Vancouver Whitecaps saw Seattle Sounders, they beat them 5-1 at BC Place, and Thomas Müller never left the bench. If Seattle get past Real Salt Lake in the Western Conference Wild Card game on Thursday, Nov. 19, the two sides meet again at BC Place on Sunday, Nov. 22, and the question for Jesper Sørensen is whether Müller will be any closer to ready.

Müller hurt his hamstring on Oct. 6 against the Chicago Fire at Soldier Field. He missed four games, came back as a substitute on Oct. 28 and, according to Daily Hive, has played a total of 43 minutes since the injury. The 37-year-old was an unused substitute for the 5-1 win over Seattle on Nov. 1, and he wasn't training with his teammates on Wednesday.

"Thomas is not resting because he's been out for a long time," Sørensen said. "He's recovering, and we'll try to see if we can manage to build him up towards the playoffs in the best possible condition. Obviously there's some concerns about his injury."

Vancouver have been fine in the meantime. They closed the regular season with three straight wins, finished first in the West with 19 wins, seven draws and eight losses, and set club records for points (64) and wins (19). MLSsoccer.com says they're only the fourth club in league history to reach 60 points in back-to-back seasons.

The production is spread out. Sportsnet notes that Vancouver had the league's second-best attack with 74 goals, led by Brian White's 20, and the second-best defense with 34 conceded. Édier Ocampo had a team-high 12 assists, and goalkeeper Yohei Takaoka kept 14 clean sheets.

Last year, Vancouver had to go on the road for both the Western Conference final in San Diego and the MLS Cup final against Inter Miami in Fort Lauderdale, which they lost. This time they have home field all the way through the West, and they'd host MLS Cup on Dec. 18 unless they meet Nashville there.

There are other fitness questions. Sørensen said before Decision Day that midfielder Andrés Cubas (ankle) and Emmanuel Sabbi (high ankle sprain) weren't likely to be ready for that game. But Müller is the one everyone is watching, and the Whitecaps have shown, as recently as that 5-1 night against Seattle, that they can win big without him while they wait.