Ramos closes in on returning to Lions
Almost every week a fan writes or tweets or emails asking about Rafael Ramos. Where is he? Will he ever be back? What’s going on?
Ramos, a 22-year-old right back for Orlando City who captured hearts the past two years with his speed and onfield passion, has watched every game this season from the sideline, yearning to play on the expertly-groomed pitch of the club’s new stadium.
“I feel like them; I just want to be back,” said Ramos, who has been working to return from a hamstring injury he suffered during the preseason. “I just want to be on that field. I haven’t played there yet, but it must be nice, and I want to feel that crowd behind me.”
He may be back on the pitch soon. After three weeks of training in full and logging 75 minutes with Orlando City B in the USL team’s last game, Ramos needs to pass one more test before Lions coach Jason Kreis considers him for the first-team roster.
“We have a little bit of a difficult situation because OCB’s erratic schedule, as well as ours, has meant that his build back into full fitness has been a little bit staggered,” Kreis said. “So, the expectation is this weekend that he plays 90 minutes [with OCB] to show us that he’s 90 minutes fit, and once he does that, then he’s in consideration for the rest of the first-team games going forward.”
It’s been a long recovery, which Ramos approached with extreme caution, unwilling to risk returning too soon for fear of another injury. Last year he also sat out for months due to hamstring issues. Scott Sutter was signed after Ramos went down this year and has been the Lions’ starting right back since joining the club.
Days after the injury, Ramos hung his head after training separately from his team. He didn’t understand why it kept happening or what he could do differently. He has spent nearly four months not only building his body back strength, but also his knowledge about hamstrings.
“I’ve spoken with a lot of people in Portugal, I’ve spoken with a lot of people here, doctors, specialists in hamstring injuries,” Ramos said. “I know some more about it and I’m doing everything I can to stop it. I’ve been trying to do everything I can control, like resting, recovering, what I eat, how I recover from training, the exercises I do, the extra work — I’ve been doing all the right things.
“I will be back soon.”
The United States Soccer Federation announced Wednesday the list of nominees for induction into the National Soccer Hall of Fame this year.
Lions coach Jason Kreis was among 33 on the player ballot for the 2017 class. He’s joined by for L.A. Galaxy player David Beckham, Colorado Rapids coach Pablo Mastroeni, Columbus Crew coach Gregg Berhalter and D.C. United coach Ben Olsen, among others.
But, to Kreis, the nod is no big deal.
“I don’t know, I guess I just don’t put too much stock in it or weight in it, because I think I've been nominated for — a lot of years and haven’t been inducted,” Kreis said. “So, for me, I feel like it's been a little bit of two lives: the life as a player and now the life as the coach. And, I’m very much ingrained in my life as a coach, so I don’t look back too much at my life as a player.”
This is Kreis’ final year of eligibility for induction as a player, which includes those retired for at least three years but no more than 10. Kreis retired and began coaching Real Salt Lake in 2007 after a 12-year MLS career that included being the league’s leading scorer and MVP in 1999 and a seven-time MLS All-Star.
“It feels like three lifetimes ago to be honest,” said Kreis, 44, who will become eligible for induction as a veteran if he is not elected this year.