Ilay Feingold and Luca Langoni are back from injury, though it will take some time until they're at full fitness.
Feingold logged his first minutes since April 25, when he came off the bench in the 3-1 win over Columbus Crew SC. Langoni returned on Saturday, drawing a late penalty in a 2-1 loss to the LA Galaxy. It was his first appearance since August 1.
While happy to see them on the field, the New England Revolution are preaching patience.
"I would say that the minutes that they got in [recent] games, we are happy about that, but they are still in ‘preseason time'," head coach Marko Mitrovic explained. "And they would need several weeks more to get somewhere where you can say, ‘OK, they can perform for longer minutes’."
Limited training sessions during a congested schedule of three games in eight days means that the coaching staff will have to discuss how and when to use Feingold and Langoni.
"I'm very happy to see that they are healthy and back," Mitrovic said. "But also, I don't want to put any high expectations on the both of them in the next few weeks."
Both players will add something to the Revs' attack.
Langoni is second on the team in assists (6), many of which came on set pieces. His speed makes him a threat to get in behind.
While Feingold is a right back, he loves to get forward, as evidenced by his one goal, one assist, and five big chances created.
"For Luca, he's just a very direct winger," Brooklyn Raines said. "I think for one, he brings pace, and then I think just his work rate as well. Even most wingers, I'd say, are not really prone to wanting to defend, just kind of wanting to attack. But I think Luca can do both sides of the ball.
"Then Ilay, I'd say the same, a very direct fullback [who can] get up and down the field. Obviously, both of them will bring assists to us, so I'm very excited to see them back in the team.”
