Shutdown giving Struna healing time until restart
With play on hold until at least May, players have a chance to get healthy
The suspension of the Major League Soccer season has at least one positive: it has provided an opportunity for Dynamo players to recover before the league’s targeted return in May.
“When the MLS said the league is suspended, the same day we decided for me to go to surgery so that I can be ready in 30 days,” defender Aljaz “Kiki” Struna said. “I’m on a reset program so everyday I’m doing therapy and what I need to do to comeback in 30, 40 days.”
Struna played 90 minutes in each of Houston’s first two games and has played a proactive offensive role under new coach Tab Ramos. Still, he describes a minor but nagging discomfort in his left knee, which led him to undergo arthroscopic surgery last week.
Ramos provided Struna’s teammates with a training program to help them stay fit after the league prohibited team training —— a moratorium which was extended through March 27 on Friday. But Struna’s focus remains on rehabilitation.
“I had problems with my knee but not real problems. I was playing but it was bothering me. When the MLS said it is suspended for 30 days, we said, ‘OK, we must do this now,’ ” he said.
“I’m not doing much (this week), we’re just focusing on the knee.”
Forwards Alberth Elis and Darwin Quintero were listed as questionable (right thigh injuries) ahead of the Dynamo’s last game against Sporting Kansas City. They appeared healthy during last week’s practices and could have made their 2020 starting debuts against Colorado before the league initially suspended the season for 30 days last week.
The hiatus also offers more recovery time for would-be starting right back Jose Bizama, whose absence should be minimized as he recovers from surgery (right ankle) in early March.
On Thursday, the league announced that it would aim to restart play on May 10 in accordance with the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s recommendation to not hold events involving more than 50 people for eight weeks.
Struna said he will be ready to play by then, although he’s not sure if he actually will.
“Who knows,” he said. “I just hope everything will be okay and everything will be normal as it was before. Health is first, sports and soccer are second for us, so let’s just be healthy and safe and we will see what happens.”