Red Bulls’ Long works to rejoin U.S. after torn Achilles
Aaron Long thought back to the aftermath of May 15, when he landed awkwardly during an aerial challenge in the New York Red Bulls’ game at Philadelphia.
Two days later, he had surgery to repair a torn right Achilles tendon and started a rehabilitation odyssey that would see him take two trips to Europe.
“I think the hardest part for me was probably the first week, just kind of wrapping my head around it, not really being injured before in that manner. And there’s a lot of what ifs and uncertainty of what’s to come,” he said.
Long played Thursday in the United States’ closed-door scrimmage against the second-tier Phoenix Rising as he tries to regain fitness for World Cup qualifying, which resumes Jan. 27 against El Salvador in Columbus, Ohio. Americans are training in Phoenix, and some will travel to Columbus for workouts starting Jan. 24.
A central defender, Long, 29, has made 29 appearances for the U.S. since 2018 and would be candidate to start if fully fit. He was Major League Soccer’s defender of the year in 2018, when he was picked for the league’s All-Star team.
“He’s obviously a big part of this group, on and off the field,” midfielder Sebastian Lletget said.
Long and forward Jordan Morris are both coming off major injuries. Morris started and played until the 78th minute in the 1-0 win over Bosnia and Herzegovina on Dec. 18, his first international appearance since tearing his left ACL on Feb. 20.
Both missed the first eight qualifiers. Following an operation and rehabilitation, the Red Bulls sent Long to their sister team’s facility in Austria for two to three weeks, and later an additional two weeks.
“People are talking timelines,” he said. “It’s just a weird thing to try to plan, plan out something that I’m not familiar with. And obviously, there’s a lot of sadness in those moments.”