Action the preseason friendly between the Seattle Sounders (white jersey) and the Portland Timbers on February 6, 2016, in Tucson, Arizona. (Photo courtesy of the Seattle Sounders)

SEATTLE, Washington -- It remains to be seen who will be in Sigi Schmid’s starting XI when the Seattle Sounders take on Club America in the first leg of their Scotiabank CONCACAF Champions League quarterfinal at CenturyLink Field on Tuesday night.

One thing has become clear, forward Obafemi Martins will not be among those players. The 31-year-old announced on his Twitter that he was leaving to join Shanghai Shenhua of the Chinese Super League. Although Seattle has not confirmed the move, it did share Martins’ Tweet on the club’s official website.

“As with anything that happens in life, you gain knowledge of it at various times,” Schmid said in a conference call with reporters. “You just cope with it.”

The Sounders are coping with Martins’ pending absence already, wrapping up the preseason schedule with a 4-0 win over the LA Galaxy in a closed-door friendly at StubHub Center on Wednesday. Andreas Ivanschitz netted a brace, while Clint Dempsey and Chad Marshall added one goal each.

Playing up top in Schmid’s new 4-3-3 formation was Dempsey, Nelson Valdez and new signee Jordan Morris, a United States international who set up a pair of goals in the win.

“Jordan Morris is part of that mix for us up front,” commented Schmid. “We’ve trained in it [4-3-3 formation], we’ve tweaked it, we’ve changed it a little bit. We’ve gotten better about it.”

Valdez believes he and his teammates are prepared mentally and physically to take on Club America.

“For me, it’s very important after a long time to have a full preseason,” the 32-year-old said. “I’m happy with that, without injury, and now I think we are ready for America.”

As for the rest of the players’ fitness through preseason, Schmid believes they are right where he needs them to be ahead of the match against Club America.

“The field, because it played heavier…we felt that pushing our guys for 75 minutes was the equivalent of 90 minutes on a dry field,” Schmid said, referring to the LA friendly played in drenching rains. “On Sunday and Monday, we’ll prepare technically for Club America.”