KANSAS CITY, Mo. – After losing yet another defender for the year due to injury, Sporting Kansas City needed some good news along their back line. They may have just gotten it.
Center back Aurelien Collin took an active, energetic role in training on Monday, raising hopes that he could play in Tuesday night's home match against New York after missing two matches with a recurring hamstring strain.
“He looked good. He looks like he's ready to go, I think,” manager Peter Vermes told reporters after Monday's training session. “Obviously, I'll have to wait until tomorrow because of the length of time that he's been out. Today's the most that he's done, so I'll have to make that (decision) tomorrow.”
That news came a day after Sporting announced that right back Chance Myers would miss the rest of the season after tearing his left Achilles tendon in the first half Friday's 2-2 home draw with Toronto FC.
“I knew something wasn't right when I initially went down,” Myers told MLSsoccer.com on Monday. “I have a pretty high pain tolerance and I can usually walk things off and tough it out, but in this case I couldn't even feel my left foot. The pain literally knocked me off my feet.
Myers, who is in his seventh season with Sporting, is scheduled to undergo surgery on Wednesday. Vermes doesn't expect him to be ready for the start of the 2015 season.
“I think it'll take, at minimum, a year from now,” Vermes said on Monday. “A solid year. I would say that by that time, you would hope that you can get him back into playing.”
Myers would like to get back sooner, though.
“Best-case scenario, I want to be with the team next preseason,” he said. “But I'm going to take it day by day and rehab as best I can and listen to my body.”
Collin has not played since taking himself out just after the hour mark of Sporting's 2-1 home loss to Philadelphia on May 14 – the second time this year he has been sidelined by the same hamstring. Kansas City is on a three-match winless streak going into Tuesday's match, and played against TFC without a natural center back anywhere on the roster.
“It's always hard to watch when you're not playing,” Collin said. “But whoever's been playing out there, honestly, I've been very proud of the way they played in the defense. They did their best, and the last couple of games it was more of a team problem than a defense problem.”
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The two-time MLS All-Star and 2013 MLS Cup MVP also said he doesn't expect to see a recurrence of the strain.
“Obviously, I took my time, so I hope it's going to be good,” he said on Monday. “It's a small injury, so I cannot complain. You just have to be careful to go crescendo, because if you go too fast like I did last time, I hurt my hamstring again. I took it step by step and now I'm ready to go.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
