HOUSTON – Outside of a tough loss Wednesday, the Houston Dynamo’s start in 2011 has mostly been positive. They have gotten points on the road, gotten scoring from their forwards, and had an undefeated April.
One of the few negatives, however has been their battle with injuries, particularly involving Brian Ching.
“He’s hurt some tissue in his plantar fasciitis area and he missed training today,” Dynamo head coach Dominic Kinnear said after Friday’s training. “He’s a little bit disappointed about getting another injury this year. He’ll be on the shelf a couple of weeks, which is a disappointment for us.”
Ching has attempted two separate comebacks this year. The first was from a preseason hamstring injury that kept the forward out the first week of the season. After returning to play against Seattle, the veteran forward suffered a rib separation against New York the following week that kept him out of three games.
Now he'll have to battle back from another issue suffered in Wednesday's match against Colorado.
“Jermaine Taylor had the same thing in the first week of the season and it took him about a month to get back, so it depends on the person,” Kinnear said when asked about recovering from the injury. “If there’s anyone who can come back fast, it's Brian. His will and determination to play is something you can admire.”
Ching will not be the only player missed from the Dynamo lineup. Danny Cruz sat out of full training Friday and is listed as out for Saturday’s match at Toronto FC due to a right knee hyperextension.
Cruz suffered the injury against New England in Houston's fifth game of the season but made a somewhat surprising return a week later against Chicago. After aggravating the injury in that game, the right midfielder is likely to miss his third match in a row.
On a positive note, the Dynamo will probably have Geoff Cameron back in the lineup against Toronto (6 pm CT, Direct Kick, Watch for FREE online). The midfielder suffered a lower left leg contusion last Friday against D.C. United, which made him a late scratch Wednesday night. After training Thursday and Friday, Cameron is ready to get back on the field on Saturday.
“It’s still tender, but we’ve got today and tomorrow to get some ice on it but I should be ready for game-time, no problem,” Cameron said.
Darrell Lovell covers the Houston Dynamo for MLSsoccer.com. Follow him on twitter at @Dynamoexaminer.
