SANDY, Utah – When Real Salt Lake take the field against New England Revolution on Friday, there’s hope that the familiar faces of Robbie Findley and Kyle Beckerman will finally be back in the mix at Rio Tinto Stadium.
For Findley, overcoming jet lag could be his biggest hindrance. The RSL speedster, of course, just returned from South Africa, where he relished in his part of helping the US team advance past the group stage at the World Cup.
After four different planes and 24 straight hours of travel, he finally arrived in Salt Lake on Tuesday where he was greeted to a hero’s welcome at the airport.
“Getting there [South Africa] took a few days to get into it, so maybe the same thing here,” Findley said. “I’m just a little tired, jet-lagged. Hopefully I can recover and get ready.”
Beckerman knows somewhat about what Findley is going through, after having a similar experience with the team at the Gold Cup a year ago.
“You’re really excited to come back. You miss the guys. It’s just comfortable here,” Beckerman said. “Our team’s a little bit different than others, but we feel like we’re a family here – and that’s from the owner on down.”
For his part, Beckerman said this week that he’s unsure if the left-foot injury that has sidelined him since May 22 is a thing of the past.
“I don’t know. Just one day at a time,” Beckerman said. “[The doctor] seems pretty confident.”
However, Beckerman admits: “I’m getting some sharp pains here and there.”
Beckerman did, however, admit he feels very confident about his recovery the offensive side of the ball.
“A lot of the offensive stuff has come back and it’s fine. Now it’s just getting the closing down, and the quick reactions and strengthening them, and the cutting,” he said.
