Lots to get to from D.C. United training this morning, all good news:
Longtime absences due to concussions, both Devon McTavish and Santino Quaranta made their return to training with the team on Tuesday. Quaranta was even back to his confident form afterward, challenging Andy Najar and Dwayne De Rosario to a contest trying to bend balls into the net, corner kick-style, from what would be a couple yards beyond the end line.
“I’m just happy, real fortunate because you never know what’s going to happen,” said Quaranta, who has been out since May. “Your brain, your mind, it plays tricks on you. It tells you, ‘Am I ever going to be able to get back from this?’ You at the past and what we’ve had here. I’m just trying to be positive. I’m over it now. I feel like it’s done.”
“It has been a long time,” said McTavish, who has been out since the second week of preseason. “I almost forgot what it felt like. It feels good.”
“That was a big step for Tino and Devon. It’s been a long road for them so it’s nice to see them back,” said D.C. head coach Ben Olsen. “I think it’s day-to-day now. If they get through tonight with no symptoms, I think they’re ready to play.”
With a longer layoff, McTavish was a bit more cautious than Quaranta on taking the next step and returning to the field itself in a match.
“I’m not there yet,” McTavish said. “I have a lot of work to do, get fit and learn how to play the game again. I’m just happy to be back out here and playing and not be sitting in my apartment with the blinds down in a dark room. It’s good for my mental health to be back here with the team. I’m just trying to take it slowly, get back as fast as I can, but I don’t want to set myself back anymore, either.”
As for Quaranta: “Not that long. I’ve been running a lot. I don’t think it’s going to be a couple weeks before I’m back and playing.”
Meanwhile, D.C. United’s most recent concussion victim, Joseph Ngwenya, also got through practice today and Olsen expects him to be back.
Forwards Charlie Davies (knee inflammation) and Josh Wolff (hamstring), who both missed last weekend’s contest at San Jose, also were back.
“It’s just a little frustrating, throughout this whole season, I feel like I’ve been getting into a rhythm and into a form, and then I’ll have a little setback, whether it’s a muscle injury or in my knee now,” Davies said. “Of course, it’s probably to be expected after such a long layoff. It’s tough to deal with when it happens.”
One absence was defender Brandon McDonald, but it appears to be a wear-and-tear situation that won’t keep him out of contention to play against Toronto FC this weekend.
“He’s had a lot of games, and he hasn’t had consistent [90-minute games],” said Olsen, “so we’re going to be smart with him.”
