As the New England Revolution made their way westward on Friday prior to Sunday's game against Chivas USA, there's a good chance midfielder Pat Phelan had to deviate from his usual travel routine.
Phelan's usual travel plans took a hit in the 93rd minute of Saturday's 4-2 loss to Kansas City. A conflict with both the boards and the asphalt perimeter of the Gillette Stadium field forced Phelan to plop straight down and fracture his right wrist.
The second-year midfielder's fractured wrist is now encased in a wrist-to-elbow cast similar to the one teammate Jeff Larentowicz wears to shield his broken right radius. Minor surgery is an option -- a procedure so simple that Phelan said he could have the surgery on a Monday and return to the field on Wednesday -- but Phelan is stuck with the cast for at least the next four weeks whether he decides to have the procedure done or not.
The cast may protect his wrist, but it poses an immediate travel concern for Phelan because it prevents him from using his right thumb.
"It's amazing how much you realize you use your right thumb when you can't use it," Phelan said. "It's terrible."
Phelan's limited thumb dexterity prohibits most of the things he'd usually do to pass the time on a cross-country flight. Video games, a staple of Revolution road trips, and computers are out. Reading is a problem, too, because Phelan said he's struggling to flip the pages. With trips to New York, FC Dallas and Colorado ahead over the next three weeks, Phelan might have to find alternative forms of entertainment.
Fortunately for Phelan, he won't need the use of his right thumb to step onto the field on Sunday afternoon. The pain isn't an issue, Phelan said, so the central midfielder is expected to step into the gaping void created by Shalrie Joseph's one-match suspension.
Injuries, suspensions and fixture pileups have handed Phelan 10 previous starts in MLS play this season, so he said he knows exactly what to expect when he lines up alongside Larentowicz.
"It's not really a different situation," Phelan said. "We've gone through adversity all year with players being injured or suspended or whatever. It's unfavorable from the team standpoint, but it's comfortable from my standpoint. I'm used to it. Not much has changed."
Perhaps the only shift comes from what the Revs will want to do in the middle of the park. Joseph impacts the match on both sides of the ball, using his precise passing over distance to open up avenues going forward while providing a tidy defensive component. Phelan's game possesses fewer frills yet still provides the calmness and the possession required in the center of the park.
Revolution coach Steve Nicol said although he knows he's losing a player he calls "probably the best at his position in the league" for the Sunday afternoon matinee, he believes Phelan can step in and fill that role.
"You know exactly what you're getting (with Pat)," Nicol said. "He's a guy that's going to be in good spots. He can pass the ball, keep the ball and defend well. These are all things that we're going to need on Sunday."
Phelan said he planned to follow Larentowicz's lead and expressed confidence that he and Larentowicz could win the midfield scrap with Jesse Marsch and Paulo Nagamura, Chivas USA's combative central midfield pairing.
"The more we play together, the more comfortable we get," Phelan said. "The more I play, the more comfortable I get and the faster I start reading things. I can't replicate Shalrie's performance or anything like that, but I think it's a little bit different with us in there."
Kyle McCarthy is a contributor to MLSnet.com.
