CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Rogers can’t hide his frustration from his latest injury that has kept him on the shelf since the start of the season.
Various injuries riddled the midfielder’s 2013 campaign and just weeks into the preseason, the 26-year-old was struck down again this time with what his doctors describe as a “stress reaction” in his left ankle that occurred due to “overuse” during the preseason.
While Rogers admits that his stop-start recovery has been a “frustrating” endeavor, the midfielder is hoping to return to full-timel training and possibly even game action at some point in April.
“It’s been frustrating. The bone is damaged with a stress reaction in left ankle. You move forward, train a day and then have to be out for a few days,” Rogers told reporters on Tuesday. “I’ve been making progress the past two weeks. Frustrating to have this kind of keep me inside and hold me back. I’ve been making a lot of progress, I think in the next two weeks I can train properly.”
Added Rogers, “It’s been six weeks [since the injury surfaced], I was in a boot for a few weeks and then I started jogging. I felt great today and I did some good running then next week I feel like I should be able to train properly with the team. Then I need to get fit and hopefully play some games with Galaxy II in about three weeks from today. That’s the perfect case scenario.”
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena didn't offer a timeline for Rogers' recovery, but stated that he is keeping a keen eye on the midfielder's progress.
“He’s just starting to get back. He’s been out a while,” said Arena. “We’ll see how he moves along over the next couple of weeks.”
But as confident as he is that he can turn the corner, Rogers admits that there is disappointment with the way that his 2014 season has begun.
“It’s tough," said Rogers. "It’s great to be out running, but I have to watch the guys play. I just try to watch games and try to stay in it as much as possible. It’s just frustrating though when you can’t do your job because of health reasons. It just sucks.”
