CARSON, Calif. – LA Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena confirmed that new signing Giovani dos Santos will play for the Galaxy against Central FC on Thursday, and Sunday’s match vs. Seattle Sounders FC.

During the press conference announcing the addition of the 26-year-old Mexican international, Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena confirmed that dos Santos will play a role “in some capacity” in Thursday’s CONCACAF Champions League match. Dos Santos had been previously hobbled by a left abductor injury during the Gold Cup that caused him to miss the last few weeks of the tournament.

BUY NOW: Click here to buy tickets

“Over the next few days if everything goes well, we’ll get him on the field on Thursday,” Arena, who also noted that he was unsure if Giovani would play a full half, said. “He’s been training with us. … Any player that misses two or three weeks needs a little time to get back and he’ll need a little time but I think in a very short period of time, he’ll be back to 100 percent.”

And if dos Santos emerges from Thursday’s match unscathed, Arena is confident that he’ll make his Major League Soccer debut against Seattle Sounders FC on Sunday.

“We just need to through the week a bit and see how deals with it,” said Arena. “Good players fit in easy; players that aren’t very good need a little bit of time. In his case, he’s really made the adjustment quite well.”