The injury bug has bitten Houston Dynamo hard this season. One look into the Orange's training room and the first thing that comes to mind is celebratory pictures from last year's MLS Cup triumph, yet there are U.S. international Brian Ching, midfielder Brad Davis and forward Paul Dalglish among others on the tables and in the whirlpools.
Along with those three, midfielder Stuart Holden and defender Craig Waibel have also missed the last few games due to injuries. For the Dynamo players, especially with the club scuffling of late, it's tough not being on the field.
"It's extremely tough. You want to be on the field," Ching said. "When you are injured, it's frustrating. It's probably one of the most frustrating things for me, especially when the team isn't doing well. I think when the team is doing well, you don't feel as much of a sense of urgency to get back, but when they are not getting wins, especially at home, you want to be out there because I can feel I can make a difference."
Ching has been out for the last two games after straining his left calf against FC Dallas on Aug. 19. He said his rehab has been going well, but he thinks he will miss Saturday's game against Real Salt Lake and looks more likely to return next week at Los Angeles.
"You know I have never had this type of injury before, so I don't really know where I should be as far as coming back," Ching said. "We're taking it pretty slow. I went out jogging (Thursday), and I felt better than I did the last time I tried it. Hopefully, we can continue to progress. I think next weekend is looking more likely than this weekend."
Davis has been out for the last 10 weeks with a right knee injury, but he said after training Thursday that he is hoping to be back by the end of the month.
"Rehab is going well. I guess I'm right where I should be," Davis said. "We are expecting me to be ready by the end of the month. Our goal is set for the Dallas game, so everything is coming along well."
When Davis gets back, he said he owes a lot to his teammates because he will be coming back in time for another playoff run for Dynamo. For him, it's been hard to sit and watch his teammates play while he rehabs.
"Ridiculously hard. It's hard to have to sit and watch every single game and not being able to participate in it," Davis said. "My day consists of coming in and rehabbing my knee and working out in a gym. I haven't been able to touch a ball in about 10 weeks. It's difficult, especially when you see your teammates battling.
"If I get the opportunity and do get to come back and play, I owe it all to them for busting their butts this whole time while I've been out. For them busting their butts on the field, it's going to give me an opportunity hopefully to play at the end of the year. It's real neat to be able to sit and realize those things and see how hard the team is working. It gives me a boost to want to work harder and be back to 100 percent when I get back."
Dalglish has missed the majority of they year with an ankle injury, while Holden has missed the last month with a sprained ankle. Waibel, who has been listed as a substitute the last two games but has not played, has missed action due to a lower abdominal strain.
Dalglish, who is hoping to return by the end of the month, looks to be further along in his rehabilitation than the others, said Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear.
"[Waibel] hasn't trained in a while. He took part in training a bit (Thursday), so Craig playing on Saturday is questionable," Kinnear said. "Paul Dalglish is probably farther along than the other three. He took part in training (Thursday) for the first time in ages. Saturday is a long shot, so we are still down a couple guys."
But, Kinnear is still looking at who he will have on the field as forward Nate Jaqua will return Saturday after he served a one-game suspension against Kansas City for yellow card accumulation.
"The league doesn't stop games for injuries or reschedule them," Kinnear said. "A couple teams could be looking for a couple of reschedules along the way. I don't like to concentrate on the guys that aren't available. I like to concentrate on the guys who are available. Nate is available. We missed his presence last week in the box because we were missing some balls in the box. Nate is another body that adds to squad and that makes it a little deeper."
Davis is looking forward right now, and when the team gets healthy, he knows they will be ready to make another run at the MLS Cup.
"I think our whole team is going to be healthy by then," Davis said. "This bye week is coming at a good time. We have a lot of bodies down. After (two games) we get two weeks off. We get a chance to get everybody healthy and go at it like we did last year."
Jeremy Rakes is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
