I arrived at another shockingly warm D.C. United training session today just in time to see reserve goalkeeper Andrew Quinn leaving the grounds via golf cart with his right knee wrapped in ice, off to get an MRI. Apparently, it was non-contact injury, Quinn heard something pop while doing drills. Assuming he’s out this weekend, it shouldn’t have any impact on United keeper rotation – Troy Perkins was back in training today after missing Tuesday with illness, and Bill Hamid was also in attendance.
So while yet one athlete suffers a knee injury, another continues to recover from a knee injury. Against New England last weekend, Brandon Barklage started his first match for D.C. United since July 7 of last year, a U.S. Open Cup game in which he torn his right ACL. The recovery after reconstructive surgery is far from over – Barklage said he only played one 90-minute contest during preseason, which helps explain why he cramped up after about 70 minutes against the Revolution.
“I always keep in mind, I had surgery 9 months ago so it hasn’t been too far, and it gets swollen pretty much every other day,” said Barklage. “That’s kind of hard to deal with. As long as I stay on top of the treating and everything, it’ll be fine.”
His blistering strike in D.C.’s U.S. Open Cup play-in victory over New York last spring was one of United’s best goals of the year. Barklage, just a rookie, was manning the center of the park that day. A year later, after Andy Najar showed some of his age in United’s season-opener, Barklage found himself on the right wing with the first eleven against New England, a place the former third-round draft pick hopes to be again this weekend in Philadelphia.
“I feel like I had a decent showing, a good enough showing to where I can get another chance this weekend, and hopefully build from there,” said Barklage, who is also positive about United’s struggling offense. “We are clicking on the offensive side of the ball. It’s just a matter of executing our chances, I think. I think we created three quality chances the other night, and if we put those in early, that would’ve changed the whole game.”
As it appears I’m doing with everyone this week, I also asked Barklage for an assessment of Santino Quaranta in the attacking midfield role.
“He’s getting better every day. He’s one of those guys that if you put him in one position, he’ll get a hold of it. He’s going to flourish there, I think,” said Barklage. “[He’s] a lot different than Christian [Gómez]. He’s willing to work both ways, both sides of the ball, and his teammates really appreciate that. The work that he’s shown on the field, I think he’ll be a really good player there, for sure.”
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