New England Revolution captain Steve Ralston crumpled on the turf and held his shoulder during the second half of the season opener.
Ralston knew he was injured and knew he would be out for the next game. But he didn't know anything aside from the fact that he had dislocated his shoulder.
"I didn't know what to expect," Nicol said. "I didn't know how long this process takes. They were telling me anywhere between a minimum of three weeks and six months. There was a pretty big range there. Once we got the MRI results back, we were looking at about this time frame."
Ralston spent the better part of a month on the sidelines after jarring his shoulder out of place, but didn't appear to feel any ill effects when he returned to the training field last week. Revolution head coach Steve Nicol said Ralston didn't seem to miss a beat.
"His fitness is good," Nicol said. "He's one of those guys who is naturally fit. The way he plays the game, he's smart about it. It's his first week back."
Ralston said that he wasn't sure how he fit he actually was because training does not reflect game demands.
"There's only one way to find out and that's by playing in a real game," Ralston said. "You can run around the field before and after practice as much as you want, but there's no substitute for getting out there and actually playing. That being said, I feel pretty good getting out there, working and training."
Even if Ralston is fit, that isn't the only consideration.
"Obviously, the only concern we have is him getting rattled on the shoulder," Nicol said. "That's pretty obvious. We'll see how that goes."
Ralston said he had to assess the potential repercussions before taking the field.
"If it's a pain thing, I can deal with that and I can play," Ralston said. "But if I come back too early and it's a little weaker and it has a chance of coming out again, I have to be careful of that."
Sometimes circumstances dictate a player's return. Down two goals after 52 minutes, Nicol sent Ralston on for the final 36 minutes of Saturday night's 3-0 loss to the Fire.
"I'm not 100 percent, but I felt good," Ralston said. "It was nice to be back and be part of it and play, but it's disappointing and it's not the result we were looking for because playing at home and losing 3-0 is not acceptable."
While Ralston had to rush back a bit sooner than expected because of match circumstances, he said that the increased depth has given him the luxury of knowing that he could rehab and the team would still get results.
"We would have been in trouble if this had happened a couple of years ago. Who knows. Maybe guys would have gotten the chance and shined," he said. "All I know is that this team is deeper than any team I've been a part of since I've been here."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
