On Thursday, Joao Plata hinted on Instagram that he might be nearer to a return to the field than anticipated when he said, “Saturday will be an amazing day for me.”
By Friday, Real Salt Lake Head Coach Jeff Cassar confirmed that the fleet-footed forward would be available for selection in Saturday’s clash with New York City FC.
“He’s going to be available. It’s no surprise now,” he laughed in a Friday appearance on The Bill & OC Show on ESPN 700. “He’s worked extremely hard to get to this point. He still has some room to go with fitness, but he’s looked sharp and bright in training.”
Plata has missed all 11 RSL matches to this point because of a fractured fifth metatarsal in his foot, suffered on the first day of training camp in January. Now after a grueling recovery, the 23-year-old Ecuadorian has worked his way back into full training and could see his return on Saturday.
How soon he is able to start and play extended minutes will depend on how he continues that progress in coming weeks.
“It’s a credit to Joao how hard he’s worked, to our training staff and our strength and conditioning staff because it’s a long road,” Cassar said. “This was some serious stuff, for a long time he’s been out and he’s worked extremely hard to get back.”
Kickoff for Saturday’s match is scheduled for 8 p.m. MT. To hear the full interview, click here.
