KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Paulo Nagamura's return to the pitch from a persistent ankle injury is just the first of several roster-strengthening recoveries Sporting Kansas City expect over the next several weeks, as they look to regain form and favorable results down the regular-season stretch.
“All of that stuff is boding well going forward,” manager Peter Vermes told MLSsoccer.com after Tuesday's training session. “We've got to get all of our guys together as soon as we can.”
Nagamura's 84-minute starting shift in Saturday's 2-1 away loss to New York – his first action in any competition since July 6 – wasn't enough to keep Sporting from dropping a fourth straight match for the first time since 2011. Still, Vermes found plenty to like about Nagamura's gritty work in the midfield.
“He was excellent,” Vermes said. “He's a person that gives us an amazing amount of energy. It's incredible, for the amount of time that he wasn't in the team – for like seven weeks – that his impact was immediate, his energy in the game, his work ethic. And it's contagious. I think he really helped us big-time in the middle of the park.
“So from that point of view, it was really, really good, and hopefully he just keeps building off of that.”
Still, Vermes said, Sporting will be judicious in how much they ask from the Brazilian veteran as the defending MLS Cup champs prepare for what they hope will be another deep postseason run.
“The one thing that we've got to be careful of is that it's almost like a preseason for him, in a way, and we're trying to not crush him too much,” Vermes said. “We're trying to bring him along slowly each week. Even though he played so many minutes in the game, we're just trying to be smart with him.”
- Get the latest SKC news at SportingKC.com
Sporting goalkeeper Eric Kronberg is also getting closer to return after returning to training.
He racked up seven shutouts before breaking a bone in his hand during a training session in early July, but Vermes did not set a timetable for his return to competition.
Vermes also said on Tuesday that winger/midfielder Jacob Peterson is taking longer than expected to recover from a hamstring injury that has sidelined him for five matches.
“I would say it's probably another couple of weeks,” Vermes said. “It's been going kind of slow.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
