There couldn’t have been much more promise for D.C. United midfielder Chris Pontius heading into his sophomore MLS season. Coming off a year in which he was a rookie of the year finalist, he got called into the U.S. national team last winter and was chosen for the massive banner the drapes over the main entrance to RFK Stadium.
But after a season of hamstring misery, Pontius will get surgery on Friday in Los Angeles that will sideline him for six months. In an ironic twist, Major League Soccer announced today that the 2011 season will open on March 19 – six months from this Sunday.
“I just kind of wanted this thing to be over with,” said Pontius. “I didn’t want to have to deal with this hamstring again so I knew I wanted it. We got some doctors’ opinions, and they thought it was the best decision at this point, after trying everything to get it healed.”
Pontius said he’ll spend six weeks at home in Los Angeles after surgery then return to D.C. in November before returning to L.A. for the offseason.
“Just mentally I have to be stable with this,” said Pontius, who has seen former D.C. defender Ryan Nelsen, Los Angeles defender Sean Franklin and New York defender Chris Albright all recover from similar surgery. “I know it’s going to be frustrating, not being able to play or to move for a while. But I’ve got to see the light at the end of the tunnel… It’s been frustrating. I wanted to come in and have a good second year in the league, live up to some of the expectations. I know that I can so it’s frustrating, especially when you love the game and you see the team struggling as much as it is. I always want to be out on the field. I have never dealt with anything like this.”
With more and more bodies making early exits from the 2010 season, D.C. United midfielder Clyde Simms isn’t going anywhere – even though a likely sports hernia kept him out of last week’s win at Toronto. He was back fully at training on Tuesday.
“Last season when I went to Germany, they examined both sides, and said they saw where it started but didn’t recommend surgery,” said Simms, who was operated on his right side last year – not the left, where the problem is currently located.
It looks like he’ll be back on the plane to Munich as soon as possible after the season, but until then?
“We just have to have good communication,” said Simms. “Obviously, it’s a wear-and-tear type deal. The more I’m doing in training, I’m going to have to find that fine line where you train enough to stay fit but not too much to aggravate it. Today it felt great. I was able to get through a tough training so that was positive.”
