Michael Bradley will likely be fully recovered from an ankle injury by the time MLS play resumes. While the Toronto FC midfielder’s recovery is trivial in the present times, his availability will be impactful.
The COVID-19 global pandemic is taking effect across the world. And society is still adjusting to the changes in lifestyle that come with it, from the closing of local business and the suspension of large gatherings, including sporting events, to the social distancing measures that everyone must now abide by.
Listen to the latest episode of the MLS Multiplex podcast here! — What happens with COVID-19?
Major League Soccer has already suspended play for a month. It announced earlier in June that it would be postponed until June 8th at the earliest, and it could yet be pushed back further depending on the severity of the outbreak at the time.
There are obvious implications to the pause in play. Clubs are financially struggling. The league must tread water for the time being. Everyone is bored. But there are also more nuanced consequences, one of which is the added time players now have to recover from injuries. And no team will benefit from that more than Toronto FC.
More from MLS Multiplex
- Javier Milei Elected in Argentina: Potential Impacts on MLS and Signings of Argentine Players
- Orlando City and New York City FC in the Battle for Matías Arezo; Grêmio Enters Negotiations! Who Will Come Out on Top?
- USA, Honduras, Panama, and Canada Close in on a Spot in the 2024 Copa America
- De Gea Turns Down Al-Nassr’s Lucrative Offer: Speculation Points to Possible Reunion with Messi at Inter Miami
- Messi’s Magnetic Impact in the United States
After suffering an ankle injury last season, midfielder Michael Bradley eventually underwent surgery before the start of the 2020 campaign. In truth, the situation was mismanaged, as Jozy Altidore was keen to make aware, and Toronto FC were slow to react to the injury. Bradley should have undergone surgery at the start of the offseason, thus missing limited, if any, playing time. Instead, the surgery was delayed and Bradley looked set to miss the first three to four months of the season.
Bradley underwent the surgery in late January. An initial four-month recovery timeframe was announced, which would peg his return for late May. By June, he should be raring to go.
But, as Bradley admitted to reporters this week, while it is nice to think that he will have recovered from the injury without missing any game time, given the current situation, his availability is trivial:
"“In times like this you look around and we all realize that there’s so many more important things than sports and whether I miss two games, three games, five games, 10 games, 15, whatever. These are trivial things when you compare to other things that are going on in the world right now. Selfishly, it’s the one little sliver of silver lining in all of this and I’d trade it away in two seconds for everyone else to be able to live their normal lives as a society, not to have lost the number of people that we have.”"
From a human angle, Bradley, who is known to be philosophical, introspective, and have a larger outlook on life than professional footballers are often billed as, is of course correct. The state of his ankle and whether he can kick a ball is entirely insignificant in comparison to the thousands of deaths around the world. And not just Bradley’s ankle, but the entire sporting world does not matter in the current climate.
But from a footballing perspective, Bradley’s imminent availability is hugely impactful for a Toronto FC team that is looking to make their fourth MLS Cup final in five years and avenge last season’s defeat to the Seattle Sounders. After returning the majority of the team that got them to the MLS Cup final and restructuring Bradley’s contract to sign Pablo Piatti as a third Designated Player, there is reason to believe that TFC will be an elite operation once again.
They certainly looked every encouraging in their opening two matches of the season, dominating against the San Jose Earthquakes only to concede a sensational last-gasp equaliser from a freekick before then holding New York City FC at arm’s length in a 1-0 win in their home opener a week later.
That was without Bradley. Even at 32, if you add one of the premier deep-lying midfielders in MLS into a team that already looks like one of the best, you are only going to have good results.
And so, while it is trivial and insignificant in the current times, Bradley’s recovery from injury is significant. Toronto FC will be an even better team when he returns. And all this for missing just two games. That could be a game-changer.