WASHINGTON – D.C. United coach Ben Olsen expects Bill Hamid to be ready for the 2017 season opener after a knee surgery forced the goalkeeper to leave the US national team’s January camp early for a second consecutive year.
Hamid even said the timing might be a “blessing in disguise.”
Speaking after D.C.’s first training session on Tuesday, Olsen explained this latest procedure removed Hamid's right knee meniscus, and shouldn’t require prolonged rehab.
Last year, the 26-year-old was out until late May after an operation on the same knee that was more reconstructive in nature.
“I anticipate Bill being OK for the opener. I don’t think that’s going to be an issue,” said Olsen, who added that Hamid may have to manage soreness for the foreseeable future.
“It’s nothing that he can’t play with,” added Olsen. “It’s something that he’s better off now than with the surgery before when they tried to fix the meniscus. That’s a very tough thing to heal. … So now it’s gone. Every now and then he might have to ice a little bit more or take a day off. But I’m not concerned about that once he gets up and running in a few weeks.”
Last year’s surgery was the latest in a string of injury issues that appeared to complicate the 2014 MLS Goalkeeper of the Year’s national team prospects under former US boss Jurgen Klinsmann.
With that context, Hamid admitted his latest setback was “extremely tough” emotionally, until he had a conversation with new US coach Bruce Arena.
“Bruce encouraged me and that conversation, it kind of took a lot, a lot of bricks off my shoulders,” said Hamid, who is hopeful about his national team outlook with Arena in charge.
Before a US friendly against New Zealand at RFK Stadium last October, Klinsmann said Hamid was sixth or seventh on the Yanks’ goalkeeping depth chart.
“Jurgen started calling me in with his first camp when he got the job,” Hamid said. “And I was kind of his heir apparently at the time. Throughout the years, it just changed. It just slowly started to change.
“Bruce watches the league religiously. Bruce used to be a head coach at D.C. United, so he knows what this environment is all about. He knows what Ben and [D.C. general manager] Dave Kasper are all about, and how they think, how they breed young players at this club. Bruce, I can tell he appreciates that.”
As Hamid continues his recovery, Olsen confirmed that Travis Worra remains the team’s No. 2 goalkeeper for now.
“If I had a game tomorrow, I’d start Travis,” Olsen said. “But we brought in a young talent out of college who is very interesting, and Charlie [Horton]. We’ll have a trialist or two in to continue to compete for that backup spot.”
