KANSAS CITY, Mo. – Sprawled on the ground with his elbow out of socket, Teal Bunbury wasn’t consumed with the pain jolting through his arm.
He wasn’t thinking about the long-term consequences in what promises to be a critical season in his development. In many ways, Bunbury was just thankful.
“Too be honest, I was just thinking that I was glad it wasn’t my knee or my ankle or any part of my legs,” Bunbury said.
Now, two weeks after the injury, Bunbury is making steady progress toward a return to action with Sporting, rehabbing with the training staff in Kansas City before being flown on a private jet to meet up with his teammates in Arizona earlier this week.
“Right now were just taking it day by day,” he said. “It’s getting a lot better each and every day. I wake up and there is some more mobility and some more motion and extension.”
The time frame for Bunbury’s return is officially four to six weeks, which would mean his comeback would fall somewhere in the second half of March.
But, ever the optimist, Bunbury said he feels he will be ready in time to contribute to Kansas City’s season opener against Chivas USA on March 19 just days after the four-week mark.
“I really feel like I’ll be ready for the season opener,” he said. “I’ve got a great staff here helping me out.”
[inline_node:329613]And despite Bunbury’s glass-half-full nature, even he can admit there was some inevitable frustration with an injury – the most severe of his young career – throwing a wrench in a preseason in which he was doing everything in his power to grab a starting spot on a Sporting team embarking on an exciting season
“I would be lying if I said there wasn’t any disappointment,” Bunbury said, “but there isn’t too much. I know what I’m capable of, and I know when I get back I’ll still be giving it my all and playing for a starting spot. No one has it cemented and when I get back, I feel like I will be able to show what I can do.”
And what he can do is score goals, something he did five times for Sporting last season as an impact substitute and spot starter as well as for the Generation adidas team and United States national team this winter.
As much as Bunbury wants to get back to that, even he recognizes that he can’t rush and jeopardize his role in Kansas City’s season for an early – and possibly brief – return.
“I’m not going to get down because of this,” Bunbury said. “It’s just a bump in the road. [The training staff] just tells me that I need to focus on not trying to rush it. They know I want to get back, and they know I want to be playing. But I can’t rush and cause any more damage to it.”
Make sure to download the latest episode of ExtraTime Radio, featuring Columbus Crew defender Andy Iro on the CONCACAF Champions League series and ESPN's Allen Hopkins discussing Shalrie Joseph and his role with the New England Revolution.
