BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. -- Both Chris Rolfe and Patrick Nyarko returned to Fire training as the team practiced inside Toyota Park on Tuesday.
Rolfe, who sat out with hamstring tightness most of last week and Saturday’s 2-0 defeat at New England returned in full Tuesday and though he wouldn’t commit to being ready for Friday’s match vs. Sporting KC, it seems pretty likely he’ll play a part.
“I feel good,” said Rolfe. “We did a lot of treatment this weekend and let it rest yesterday so I felt pretty good today in training. It’s hard to say [if I’m ready to go] but I felt really good today. There’s a good chance.”
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Fire head coach Frank Klopas explained why Rolfe was left out of the squad on Saturday, saying, “He had a hamstring that was bothering him and we kept him off the turf field, we thought he’d be ready for this match and he was ready to go today.”
With the Fire having dealt with fixture congestion in the early part of August, Klopas and his staff decided to similarly give forward Mike Magee a rest during the team’s 2-1 win over Montreal back on May 10.
As for Nyarko, he didn’t train in full on Tuesday but has been cleared to return after suffering concussion symptoms in the team’s 2-0 U.S. Open Cup semifinal defeat on August 7.
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Having missed two matches, Klopas is hopeful Nyarko could play a part in Friday’s game vs. Sporting.
“Today was the first day he did things. Hopefully there are no setbacks, he feels better and then tomorrow he can progress more.
Nyarko warmed up with the team, did some technical work and then ran on his own Tuesday.
“We just have to see how he reacts. Hopefully there are no setbacks and I think he’s [back in full training] tomorrow.”
