Ljungberg out until mid-April?

by Dave Clark on Feb 19, 2009 6:59 PM PST in Sounders: MLS Regular Season

Well, while that was just a short time ago, now things are very different.

In reading Jose Romero's Q&A with Nate Sturgis today I read some disturbing news.

Midfielder Freddie Ljungberg is in Sweden rehabilitating from hip surgery, and he and midfielder Peter Vagenas are on track with their recoveries to take the field for Seattle in the first two weeks of April. Sounders FC could place both on the disabled list when the season starts, but that would force them to miss the league minimum of six games, which would take them to the end of April before they could be eligible to play in a game.

Schmid, on Ljungberg's rehab: "With us having gone down to Ventura and now going to Argentina, those are not places that would have been optimal for him to continue his rehab. By him staying right now in Sweden and continuing to work on a daily basis, he has all the stuff he needs... So then when he comes and joins us after we come back from Argentina he will be at a stage where he can do all the stuff on the field."

Emphasis my own

It was so shocking considering that we were once told he'd be ready for the Opener, and now it could be Game Four hosting the Wizards, so I emailed Jose, and like the true pro he is. He responded with "that's what Sigi said."

Now, I might be joining Mati Bishop in the worried crowd.

I guess the good news is that there is a disabled list in MLS.

Thoughts?

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Comments

Hold on a second! The original prognosis had Freddie back in 10-12 weeks. Ten weeks would be March 1st. All reports have him ahead of schedule. Sigi says he can train when the Sounders return on March 2. Reports from Sweden say he hopes to play for Sounders on March 19. The comments about not being available until late April assume he will be placed on a disabled list. This I doubt will happen.

by viennacoup on Feb 19, 2009 7:59 PM PST reply actions

Again, I asked for clarification on if speaking about a couple weeks into April applied to both players. It did.

And just because someone trains with the team, does not mean they will play with the team. Two weeks of training fitness does not mean “match ready.”

by Dave Clark on Feb 19, 2009 8:20 PM PST reply actions

You have to admit it’s funny. SSFC signs one of the oldest celebrities in soccer and he breaks his hip. Generally I think this signing is a huge mistake and diverts funds for better players and development.

by PedestrianMe on Feb 19, 2009 10:52 PM PST reply actions

i think freddie will be the best player on the pitch, imo.

i hope he starts for us, if he doesn’t, I won’t lose to much sleep, except for the fact that if he’s on the disabled list, he has to miss 6 games. that would be unfortunate.

by Jon on Feb 20, 2009 1:17 AM PST reply actions

PedMe, I like to consider my blog part of the reality based community and that facts should back up statements. Ljungberg is 31. That isn’t old, it isn’t old for soccer, it isn’t old for athletics. In fact I just wrote about Peak Age in MLS, and ages ago wrote about Ljungberg’s “”../../../2008/10/ljungberg-critiqued-this-time-the-age-old-question/" rel="nofollow">age concern."

As for the “funds for better players” unless you have an indication as to what players have been missed due to the 400k salary cap hit that Freddie took, you don’t have anything there. If healthy Freddie Ljungberg will be a top 10 player in the league, non of the players that have been cut would be anywhere near that.

by Dave Clark on Feb 20, 2009 6:14 AM PST reply actions

Personally I don’t see this as any new cause for concern. This was always around the time targeted for Freddy’s return. There was cautious optimism that he would be back for the opener, but as far back Sigi’s appearance on Fox Football Phone-in, he admitted that this was unlikely and the away game at TFC was pretty much the target date for him to make his debut. Also, assuming that he’s with the team and fit on their return from Argentina, he still needs time to adjust to the team. This timeframe is right in line with what we’ve always been looking at, so there is no need for a fresh round of worry.

by Humberto De La Croix on Feb 20, 2009 3:19 PM PST reply actions