Carles Gil Ready to Return From Calf Strain
Carles Gil Ready to Return From Calf Strain
"We thought that it was the same, but it was very different. I felt different."
The human body is a fickle beast.
Wear and tear throughout one life affects everyone differently. Some people can feel perfectly fine playing 90 minutes of soccer while others can feel like they might never physically recover from this feat of athleticism.
But even professional athletes experience the effects of time. Injuries that they might have been able to shake off early in their career now keep them on the sidelines.
When speaking to the media on Thursday, New England Revolution midfielder Carles Gil revealed that a calf strain has kept him off the pitch since June 22. The captain revealed that he had the same injury last season but he didn’t even miss the following match.
This time, Gil took a more cautious approach.
It was a little strange because in the beginning it was on my calf, a grade 1A,” he said when asked by The Blazing Musket about his injury. “I had that last year, I remember against Kansas City, and I played the next game. I rested three, four days and I was fine. We thought that it was the same, but it was very different. I felt different. It was difficult because every week I thought, ‘Okay, this one I will play,’ but I still wasn’t playing. It was difficult, but in the end, I said, ‘Okay, I need to have a good recovery,’ to be ready for the important part, these 11 games. I think I’m perfect now, I hope so, and healthy to help the team.”
This will not come as a surprise or a relevation from the heavens but the Revolution are a much better team when he is on the field. With points at a premium as New England seeks a playoff position, having Gil patrolling the pitch certainly increases the club’s chances of extending its season.
“Yeah, I mean, he is our 10. In our game model, he is the guy that everything goes through,” head coach Caleb Porter said. “When we were rolling, he was in really good form. He was doing everything he wanted to do on both sides of the ball, and that was a big reason why we were executing on both sides of the ball, winning, and performing. We lost him and I don’t think it’s a coincidence our results and our performances weren’t quite as good. For lack of a better analogy, it’s like losing your quarterback. You’re not going to be quite as good when you lose a top quarterback.”
Gil will be back under center on Saturday when the Revs face CF Montreal north of the border.