CARSON, Calif. – The recently unretired Landon Donovan is eager to contribute to the LA Galaxy, but just how and when he is able to do so is up in the air.
A day after Donovan announced the end of his retirement and his return to the Galaxy; the 34-year-old was back on the practice field. After the session, head coach Bruce Arena told reporters that there is an “outside chance” that Donovan will be in uniform for the Galaxy on Sunday when they host Orlando City SC.
Donovan, who has undergone an accelerated fitness program to get ready for his return, admits that while he’s raring to go, he and the Galaxy have to be smart about his playing time in the early days of his return.
“Mentally and ego-wise, yeah, I think I’m ready. I think realistically I haven’t played a soccer game in 20 months. I’ve got to manage what I want to do versus what’s smart,” Donovan said. “The reason I’m here is to help and hopefully win a championship. You can’t win a championship by playing a few minutes on Sunday, but I can certainly do something stupid and jeopardize my role here. We’ll be smart about it.”
Although Donovan—and Arena—are being cautious with his availability, the Galaxy legend believes that his fitness level is higher than he initially thought.
“My fitness is a lot better than I thought. I was actually really surprised. I’ve been doing a lot of one on one training sessions with a young man in San Diego, and I think that helped me a lot,” Donovan said. “Ironically I took a coaching course a few weeks ago in Dallas and as part of that course when the other coaches are coaching guys who aren’t coaching are playing. I played quite a bit and got pretty winded for five straight days. I think because of that my fitness has been a lot better than I realized.”
