COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – The Colorado Rapids received a potentially big boost with the return of left back Chris Klute to practice on Tuesday morning.
“I’m 100 percent right now,” Klute told MLSsoccer.com after practice on Tuesday. “I’m not match fit, so I probably won’t get in the lineup for a couple more weeks, but I’ve been practicing at 100 percent.”
Klute, 24, strained his hamstring during the second half of the Rapids’ season-opening 1-1 draw with the New York Red Bulls on March 15. He started 30 games for the Rapids in his first full MLS season a year ago, earning his first US men’s national team call-up in January. The speedy 6-foot-1 left back has been mentioned as a potential left back of the future on the national team.
As for his short-term status, it doesn’t look like he’ll be playing Saturday against the San Jose Earthquakes at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park (6 pm ET; MLS Live), but he’s likely to return in the next few weeks once he reaches full match fitness.
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“I think he’s joining us this week and we’re excited to have him back,” Rapids head coach Pablo Mastroeni said. “And we’ll see how he continues on this week and make that decision later on in the week how we’ll go. But a guy coming off an injury, the last thing that I want to do is throw him back into the lion’s den.
"We’ll bring him along slowly, and we’re excited to have another quality player back on the roster.”
Chris Bianchi covers the Colorado Rapids for MLSsoccer.com.
