CARSON, Calif. – Robbie Keane is on the mend but the LA Galaxy captain says that he’s still a week away from contending for a place in the team’s starting XI.
For a second consecutive day, Keane took part in light training with the Galaxy’s head of strength and conditioning, Daniel Guzman as he aims to return from a nagging groin strain. The strain has left Keane on the shelf for the last six straight matches, which is the longest amount of time missed the Irish striker has missed since joining the Galaxy back in 2011.
Galaxy head coach Bruce Arena contends that Keane is in high spirits as he makes his recovery but for the Irishman, the lengthy layoff has been difficult.
“I love playing. It’s been frustrating, but it’s the way it is. If it had been a good few years ago I probably would have been an absolute disaster in the locker room. I’m the worst person in the world to be injured,” Keane told reporters. “You have to make sure you look after yourself well and want to get back as quick as I can. I’m certainly on the mend; I just have to be very, very careful.”
Keane appeared ready to return from the injury several weeks ago but suffered a setback in training that caused him to miss even more time. In light of his setback, Keane admits to being more measured in his recovery, knowing that it is in his best interest not to rush back—no matter how much it hurts to be on the sidelines.
“For me, the most important thing is getting back to training by the end of this week or the start of next week and seeing how I am,” said Keane. “I’m not going to say, ‘I hope to be back next week’ because I thought I was going to be back two or three weeks ago, and I wasn’t. I just want to start concentrating on getting back training next week, and we’ll take it from there.”
