Adam Moffat speaks with such a Scottish brogue that teammate Steven Lenhart jokes that as his roommate last season he was the official translator for the Columbus Crew midfielder.
However, no matter how Moffat expresses it, he is thrilled to be playing again following a brief 17-minute stint last week vs. Toronto FC.
"I've been injured for a long time but it's still fun to be around soccer," he said. "I love it whether 10 years time if I'm still playing or maybe coaching it'll always be fun."
Moffat, 23, is on his second major comeback in as many seasons. He underwent surgery for a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his left knee in June 2008 and struggled to be ready for the start of this season.
The Crew were counting on him replacing Brad Evans, the central midfielder who took over after Moffat's injury and helped the team to the MLS Cup before going to Seattle Sounders FC in the expansion draft.
Moffat hadn't recovered by the start of preseason or the first three games of the regular season when the Crew went 0-2-1. He finally made his return on April 11 vs. Colorado and went the first 67 minutes. He also started the next match against Chicago but had to leave in the 42nd minute because of a left hamstring strain.
He would not play for three months.
"It was a little pull and shouldn't have taken as long as it did then we had a second pull and it ended it coming back then. It bruised up really bad. They looked at the MRI and it was really bad," he said. "We're taking it real easy this time. We don't want it to be the same case where I come back two weeks and injure it again."
Moffat is happy the way his rehabilitation went this time. He felt he was rushed into the lineup in April because the team was struggling. Emmanuel Ekpo started the season in the middle but the move from the right flank did not work.
Eddie Gaven took over the spot and played well but he was shifted to the left flank while Robbie Rogers was away for the Gold Cup and Danny O'Rourke became the center midfielder.
"The coach is aware the last time out I felt I was thrown in there maybe to the detriment of me when the results weren't really going our way," Moffat said. "I'm going to try to ease in there a little bit more this time."
Although his time was limited against Real Salt Lake, he was on the field for the Crew's two goals that turned a 2-1 deficit into a victory.
"Adam came on and gave us a huge spark," Lenhart said.
Moffat brings a hard edge or "bite" to the position but he also scored twice in seven games last season before being injured in his first full year with the Crew.
"I'm very happy Adam got some minutes," coach Robert Warzycha said. "He is not 100 percent fit yet. He needs some playing time. He needs some practice. Sometimes a team is playing well and you don't want to change anything. He has to be patient."
Moffat was actually listed on the substitutes list for the July 18 match against Real Salt Lake but that was only because Warzycha didn't have enough healthy bodies to fill out the lineup card.
"There was no chance of getting on," said Moffat. "I didn't even have a kit on underneath, just training gear. I was hoping I didn't need to go on because I would not have been ready."
He wasn't sure he would get a chance against Toronto, either.
"I really didn't expect to play. I expected to warm up," he said.
There were no problems with his hamstring after the match and through three days of training this week.
He still has to be careful with the knee, though.
"The knee I probably feel more than the hamstring. The knee, because I'm not running around as much, gets stiff when I don't do much. On off days I have to stay active. It's been just over a year since that happened," he said. "More and more I'm feeling more comfortable with it. The stiffness will go away when I get a good run on it."
His other concern is increasing match fitness. Without a reserve division this season he needs the upcoming six-game (at least) CONCACAF Champions League schedule more than most players.
"This is a real good opportunity for me to get extra games and improve my fitness for when I'm needed, whether it be off the bench or starting the game," he said. "I've got to work hard in practice and from the games give everything I've got in the time that's available to me."
His return gives Warzycha more options in the midfield than any point this season heading into Saturday's match at Colorado. Rogers is back from U.S. international duty and Duncan Oughton has played his way back into mix.
"It was so hard last year," Moffat said. "I was there at the start, not that the start isn't important, but the fun games are at the end when you want to be a part of it. I want to be involved this year."
He was a lonely man for much of the second half of last season when much of his rehab work was done away from the team. He's happy the Crew showed faith in him to bring him back this year.
One of the benefits was being honored at the White House by President Barack Obama on July 13.
"I had a good spot at Obama's right shoulder. People have been sending me pictures from back home. They're loving it," he said. "If they had told me three years ago that I was going to meet the president of America I wouldn't have believed them."
Craig Merz is a contributor to MLSnet.com
