HOUSTON — After spending most of the offseason rehabbing his torn right quadriceps, Houston Dynamo left midfielder Brad Davis is back.
Davis made four preseason appearances for the Dynamo at the Disney Pro Soccer Classic in Orlando, including a full shift in this past Saturday’s 1-0 loss to FC Dallas. He showed little to no ill effects from the injury he suffered last November, and appears ready to go in the season opener Sunday night against Chivas USA.
“I feel like I’m good,” Davis told the media after Tuesday training. “For the sharpness I may need a little more time, but I think that’ll come pretty quick. In the 90-minute game just at the very end when I had to do a few full field runs, I was gassed. But as far as how long I’ve sat out and where I’ve been, I feel really good.”
Heading into the Orlando tournament, there was no guarantee how Davis’ body was going to react to its first game action in four months. He said before the trip that his goal was to build fitness and sharpen his skill in a game environment.
With any long-term injury, though, the secondary impact is mental: Is Davis confident that there won’t be a relapse?
“That’s one of the hardest things to overcome,” Davis said. “It’s the confidence of, ‘Is the leg going to hold up and can I do everything I want to do?’ You’re building your confidence as well.”
Next up for Davis is to see his name on the roster sheet for Sunday’s match at Chivas USA (6 pm CT, Galavision). That decision, ultimately, lies with head coach Dominic Kinnear.
“[Davis] got that 90 minutes against Dallas in the last preseason game, and with another week of training he’ll get a little sharper,” Kinnear said. “The good thing is the weather in LA this time of year is pretty cool and you can extend minutes that way. It also depends on how good he feels leading up to this week. But you’re always better when Brad’s playing and hopefully we can get as many minutes as we can out of him.”
Darrell Lovell can be reached for comment at Darrell.A.Lovell@gmail.com.
