Officially, Benny Feilhaber is still listed as questionable for Sporting Kansas City's next match. The midfielder – and new father – insists he's ready to go, though, after missing three matches across all competitions with a sprained left shoulder.
“It feels better every day,” Feilhaber told MLSsoccer.com on Tuesday. “I mean, it's not 100 percent, but it's good to go. I'm ready to play. We're not holding anything back in practice. It's just a little bit of a tape job on my shoulder, which I'm used to with my ankles. I'll get used to it with my shoulder as well.”
Still, manager Peter Vermes told reporters that he'll take his usual cautious approach going into Sunday's home date with Chicago (3 pm ET, ESPN).
“Yesterday and today were his first two training sessions, so I'm just not sure,” Vermes said. “He's starting to get a little contact now, so we'll see. We'll have to make that decision more toward the end of the week, to see how he feels.”
Feilhaber, who was hurt late in the first half of Sporting's 2-0 away victory over Houston on June 6, said there's still some pain in the shoulder at times. But it's nothing he can't play with.
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“There's not too much pain,” he said. “With running, there's no pain. The pain comes when my arm gets dragged, I bump shoulder to shoulder – stuff like that. But at a certain point it becomes a little bit mental as well, because I try to shield it or something so I don't get crushed. But once that mental wall is gone, the pain threshold – it's not high enough pain that I can't play through it.
“I think I'll be fine with a full week of training. I'll be ready to go – obviously, barring any setbacks throughout the week. But I feel good right now.”
Steve Brisendine covers Sporting Kansas City for MLSsoccer.com.
