COMMERCE CITY, Colo. – Rapids defender Kosuke Kimura may have hurt his hand during the pressurized second half of a victory over Chivas USA last Saturday, but he had far deeper worries on his mind than simply getting injured – like just getting through the half without collapsing.
Kimura revealed on Tuesday at Rapids training that he could barely function.
Soon after the Portland Timbers game a week earlier, the Japanese right back started to suffer from shingles and the side effects of the medication he was on weren’t exactly helping him. He struggled through the difficult 45 minutes he and his teammates faced in the second half at the Home Depot Center last weekend.
“I really can’t remember much about that second half,” Kimura told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday.
Rapids fitness coach John Ireland had to help Kimura off the field at the end of an exhausting 90 minutes. On Tuesday, Kimura was back to his normal energetic self at training, calling for the ball at every opportunity as the first-team players practiced separately from the US Open Cup squad that is flying to Chicago on Tuesday night.
While he looks spry again, his face is still pock-marked from the shingles.
To anybody who knows Kimura and his story, his resilience should come as no surprise. He came to the US to go to college and play soccer despite speaking practically no English. More recently, he has had to deal with the emotional difficulties associated with the earthquake in Japan, where much of his family still lives.
Rapids head coach Gary Smith is not surprised by Kimura’s stoicism in the face of adversity.
“He’s unbelievable,” Smith said, and “a really wonderful lad.”
It seems as if unusual ailments may be spreading to other members of the team. Jamie Smith, who has played such a crucial role in the opening two games of the season, was absent from training Tuesday because of migraine problems. He is expected to be fit for the game against D.C. United on April 3. (7 pm ET, Galavision)
The Rapids will play a second string 11 against the Chicago Fire on Wednesday at 7:30 pm in a US Open Cup play-in game. They then face three MLS league games in the space of 10 days with two tough road trips to FC Dallas and Real Salt Lake following the D.C. United game at home.
