BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Chicago Fire midfielder Logan Pause won't rule out a return to action when the Fire head to Vancouver on Sunday (7 pm ET, watch on MLS Live), after a back injury forced him to miss the team's last two league games.
The Chicago captain participated in practice as a neutral player this week, and after the Fire took Thursday off, he'll judge whether he's ready to hit the road with his team on Friday.
“I just started kind of getting back more and more in training, not much inside,” Pause told MLSsoccer.com. “I'm making progress, having a really good couple of days … I'm still trying to be involved in the progression. Not letting go of the reins.”
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Pause hurt his lower back early in the Fire's 2-1 win over Columbus on June 22, and he left the game in the in the 24th minute. With Jeff Larentowicz and Alex becoming fixtures in the starting lineup, his return on Sunday is questionable.
“I'd like to think that there's a chance,” Pause said after Wednesday's friendly against Club Amréica. “It'll be nice to have a day off after hitting it pretty hard the last few days. With the game being on Sunday, it gives me an extra day, so we'll assess it on Friday.”
Patrick Nyarko was slowed by a hamstring injury during Sunday's 2-1 loss to Sporting Kansas City, but the midfielder said he's been progressing throughout the week.
“I thought Sunday was kind of close to try to recover and play in that game,” Nyarko told MLSsoccer.com by phone. “Obviously I was able to move around a little bit, but I was really ineffective just because I couldn't move freely as I normally can. Over the past week, getting the rest [Thursday], it's definitely better.”
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Nyarko only played 64 minutes last Wednesday, when his hamstring began to feel tight, and he came out in the 72nd minute in Sunday's game. He hopes to go 90 minutes on Sunday.
“The treatments have been going really well,” Nyarko said. “The last few games, I have not been able to go 90 minutes, and that's not me. I want to be playing, helping my team right til the end. I feel like I should be okay. You really cannot predict what's going to happen, but I've felt pretty good for the past week and I feel like I should be able to return to my normal self Sunday.”
