Throughout the season, Chivas USA forward Ante Razov has parlayed his 12 seasons of experience into a tool with which to guide youngsters.
Now, he's the one taking lessons from one of the young guys.
When he was diagnosed with a sprained knee, Razov's season appeared to be over. But Razov said he had different ideas. He underwent the same procedure teammate Jonathan Bornstein did when the second-year defender sprained his knee during the preseason.
With any luck, Razov said his season might not be over.
"It's coming around pretty quickly right now," Razov said after Saturday's season-ending scoreless draw against Houston.
In late February, Bornstein sprained his knee during a training session. He was ruled out of action for six weeks and missed a pair of U.S. national team games. But Bornstein underwent a procedure called Platelet Rich Plamsa, or PRP. Blood from one part of Bornstein's body was removed and placed in a centrifuge. After the plasma and platelets were separated, the plasma-less blood was injected directly into Bornstein's knee.
The recovery process sped up some because of the method, Bornstein said, and he played the entire 90 minutes in the season opener, a 2-0 win against Toronto FC on April 7.
Razov said his young teammate explained the process to him -- save for one potentially important detail.
"He forgot to tell me the procedure really hurt," Razov said. "I saw him the next day and I had a few words with him about that. After that it was all right."
Razov injured his knee on Oct. 11 in a match at FC Dallas. Minutes after he entered the match in the second half, Razov slid to try and clear away a free kick. He injured his knee but had to stay on for the remainder of the match as Chivas USA had used all their substitutes.
Later, Razov was diagnosed with a sprained knee and ruled out of action for six weeks.
But Razov said following the club's final regular-season match that his intentions are to play in the 2007 MLS Cup Playoffs. Despite his lofty aspirations, he said he has not targeted a specific date.
"We are just taking it day by day, week by week. We can't get too ahead of ourselves," Razov said. "I'm only eight days out, nine days out and I made some pretty good progress here after the procedure. After the two-week mark, I'm hoping to be back up and jogging and running again and you still have to let the actual ligament heal."
Bornstein, meanwhile, made it through the season relatively unscathed. He was able to participate in both the CONCACAF Gold Cup and Copa America with the United States national team and appeared in every minute of the 23 games he played with Chivas USA.
He's now playing another important role on the squad as he mentors the veteran forward through the healing process.
"I've been talking to him through it. He's kind of asking me questions about it. It's kind of funny. The tables have kind of turned for experience," Bornstein said.
Returning sooner than expected was a positive side effect for Bornstein. Having gone through it first-hand, Bornstein said he expects for his teammate to do the same.
"I think he's getting better at an accelerated rate which is the purpose of that treatment," he said. "I think he'll be back sooner than we expect."
Luis Bueno is a contributor to MLSnet.com. This story was not subject to the approval of Major League Soccer or its clubs.
