BRIDGEVIEW, Ill. – Fire midfielder John Thorrington participated in parts of full training on Wednesday, the first time he has practiced with the full team since he strained his left quad in the preseason.
“It’s just sort of been running on my own and doing ball work in a controlled environment,” Thorrington told MLSsoccer.com after practice, “and now this was my first time where it’s a bit uncontrolled, where I’m doing a bit more erratic movements and things.
"If I can keep moving forward each day and keep progressing without my symptoms worsening, then I’ll be out there the first game and day that I possibly can.”
The 30-year-old central midfielder played as a neutral in several of the Fire’s full team drills. He looked comfortable on the ball and distributed nicely throughout. Most importantly, Thorrington said that his quad held up fine over the course of the two hour training session.
“It feels good. I was able to get through everything without really thinking about it,” he said. “Playing felt somewhat natural and now I think I just have to see how it recovers overnight and take it each day.”
Thorrington declined to give a specific timetable for his return to game action.
“I got my first taste now and it’s a lot more fun than running on your own and sitting inside,” Thorrington said. “I want to advance as quickly as possible while at the same time being sensible to ensure that I don’t have any setbacks. … I just need to get the point where I’m giving the [coaches] a decision to make.”
Sam Stejskal covers the Chicago Fire for MLSsoccer.com. Email him at sam.h.stejskal@gmail.com and follow him on Twitter @samstejskal.
