There’s plenty to be excited about this weekend if you’re a Portland Timbers fan – namely a somewhat gigantic rivalry match to be played against the Seattle Sounders on Sunday at CenturyLink Field (9:30 pm ET; FOX Sports 1).
But Timbers supporters might want to pay close attention to the team’s USL affiliate T2 and their Saturday match at Arizona United SC. That’s where midfielder and team captain Will Johnson will make his return to action following his six-month recovery process from a broken leg suffered late last season.
Johnson began integration back into first-team training several weeks ago and hit full stride for the first time Wednesday.
“Obviously, I’m not out of the woods, it’s a long process, but it just feels great to be back with the guys and coming to training knowing I’m going to actually train and not do rehab stuff,” Johnson told media at the team facility after Thursday’s training session. “I’m still doing that stuff on the side, but I don’t wake up every morning thinking, ‘Yeah I want to do rehab.’ I’m excited in the mornings that I get to come here and get back to doing what I love.”
Johnson suffered a fractured tibia and fibula when he collided hard with Toronto FC’s Mark Bloom as they went for a loose ball in a Sept. 27 match last season. He underwent surgery the following day, marking the beginning of long – and sometimes painful – rehabilitation process. If the remainder of the week goes well, Johnson is expected to get 50 to 60 minutes of action with T2 with the hope of returning to the first team post haste.
“There’s nothing wrong with my heart, there’s nothing wrong with my passion, and that will carry me a long way” Johnson said. "And I think I can contribute with those two things alone, and obviously the rest will hopefully come as we build toward the business end of the season.”
It’s been a struggle for the Timbers this season without Johnson and star midfielder Diego Valeri, who is recovering from an ACL tear and on a similar timeline to return. The Timbers have collected nine points from seven games with just seven goals. According to head coach Caleb Porter, Valeri will be introduced right back to the first team first as a substitute, with the thinking being that defensive midfielders, Johnson’s position, are rarely subbed for.
“We feel like with Will it makes sense to get him 50, 60 minutes with T2, and then with Valeri we can bring him in and bleed him in slowly off the bench as a spark,” Porter said Wednesday, noting that Valeri is unlikely to be ready for the Seattle match.
For Johnson, watching his team scuffle from the sidelines has been tough.
“We’re right there,” he said. “It’s so early, and I think without two important pieces in myself and Valeri that they’ve done really well. So I’m proud of them and the way they’ve battled.”
Since returning to full training, Johnson hasn’t shown signs that his signature hard-nosed playing style has softened in any way as the fiery Canadian international wasted no time Wednesday barking out orders and going in hard on tackles.
“I’m not going to change what I do because of what happened,” he said. “It’s just kind of all I know how to do. … It’s gotten me to this point. I feel good about that, I embrace that, I’m not going to try to change it because of a bit of bad luck, a bad injury over a 10-, 12-year career.”
The Johnson and Valeri pair has been a common sight separate from the rest of the team in training sessions early this season as they work with director of sports science Nick Milonas and head trainer Nik Wald. And Johnson said even though their injuries and some of their rehabilitation exercises are different, having a sidekick in recovery has been invaluable during some dark times.
“For me, there were days where you just feel like the world is ending because you’re just not having a good day, your leg’s not better, you think, ‘Am I ever going to play again?’” Johnson said. “And then a guy like Diego comes over and says, ‘Listen, I’ve been there, this is what happens,’ and places his arm around you and makes it manageable for that day to get the work done so you can come back tomorrow and put in a better day. So he’s been great.”
And Johnson being the consummate leader – who was awarded the captain's armband by Porter almost immediately upon his acquisition from Real Salt Lake ahead of the 2013 season – he’s viewing his stint with the Timbers’ reserve group as another way to make sure things on the club are done right.
“Try to show some of those guys that have hopes of playing for the first team that you can kind of bridge the gap and what it takes as a pro, and that starts when we travel, in the airport, in the hotel,” Johnson said. “I think there’s a few things that can be accomplished on the club level as well as obviously all the individual things I spoke about for myself.”
Dan Itel covers the Timbers for MLSsoccer.com.
