Sunday saw Revolution II defender Gabe Dahlin take the field for the first time since suffering a minor lower-body injury as he clocked a full 90 minutes in a 2-1 loss at home to reigning MLS NEXT Pro Cup champions Red Bull New York II.
Following the match, Gabe Dahlin talked about the grueling effort to get back onto the pitch, telling The Blazing Musket he was in a tremendous amount of pain, but thanks to the extended break with Sunday’s match rescheduled from its initial March 29th date, Dahlin was able to slowly work his way back.
“I can’t even describe the pain. It was so bad," he said. "I was out for two and a half weeks. Fortunately, we had two weeks off, I believe. So I was just doing rehab every day. Slowly but surely, I was back on the field, and finally I'm back.”
This offseason saw a huge change along the backline as regular Victor Souza departed the organization as a free agent, signing with USL Championship side Pittsburgh Riverhounds SC. With Souza gone, midseason addition Chris Mbaï-Assem has stepped up in a big way as he’s the only player to be on the field for all 450 minutes so far this season.
While Dahlin and Mbaï-Assem have only played two matches together, the Swede had nothing but praise for his new partner on the backline.
“Chris is an amazing center back," Dahlin said. "It was easy. He's good on the ball. He's good in the air, good defensively.”
Dahlin missed three of the first five matches to start 2026, but he knows the confidence is high within this Revs II side and is something the club will look to bring to Columbus on April 18.
