FRISCO, Texas -- After missing six games while recovering from sports hernia surgery, third-year midfielder Dax McCarty returned to the field for FC Dallas on Sunday.
Coming on in the 64th minute for Marcelo Saragosa, it didn't take long for McCarty to leave an impact on what ended up a 1-0 win against the Chicago Fire on a sultry day at Pizza Hut Park. McCarty nearly got his second assist of the year when he served a great corner toward the far post. That cross was met by speedy Hoops forward Dominic Oduro, who headed the ball with authority toward the net before being robbed by Fire goalkeeper Jon Busch. But the great ball served notice that McCarty was back.
"I felt good," he said. "For me, it seems like it's been a while since I've been out and the whole rehab process has been a frustrating one. I just feel good to get back out there and be able to help the team. We played pretty well throughout the entire game as a team and (interim head coach) Marco (Ferruzzi) wanted to give me a run out to help kill the game off by keeping possession a little bit. I felt like I did OK.
"I only had a couple of training sessions under my belt but felt that the best way for me to get back in shape was to play, especially in that type of heat, where I would get a little bit of fitness back," he continued. "I felt pretty tired towards the end of the game even though it was only 30 minutes. I felt like I came on, helped the team and that we achieved what we wanted to."
So far this year, he has appeared in seven games, four of those starts. McCarty has one assist in 2008, the secondary assist on Kenny Cooper's fifth-minute goal in a 2-0 win at Chivas USA on April 20. His last start came in a 1-0 loss to New England on April 24 and his last action before Sunday was in a 0-0 draw at San Jose on May 3, when he played the final 21 minutes after coming on for Andre Rocha.
In 2007, McCarty broke out with one goal and a team-leading seven assists in 25 games, 18 of those starts for the Hoops. He posted those numbers despite missing five games while with the U.S. at the FIFA Under-20 World Cup in Canada.
Before last season, he went to Germany for surgery to take care of a sports hernia on his right side. McCarty saw the same thing flare up this year but on his left side and had the same procedure performed the week of May 15. He admits that he has progressed well but isn't quite back at 100 percent.
"I'd say that I'm still at 75 to 80 percent," he said. "I'm still feeling a tiny bit of pain in there and it has to do with a little tendonitis that I've had in my groin. That's something that we're looking to take care of as well, but I don't feel like I'm getting worse, which is where it was earlier in the recovery. When I came back, I felt like it was worse some days. I feel like I've hit a good point right now where I'm at 75-80 percent and fitness-wise, I'm still not there. But that's going to come with games and I feel like if I keep playing and try to push that threshold of where I'm at right now, then I will be good to go."
The last time that McCarty had the surgery, it was during the offseason and it also wasn't an Olympic year. But he admits that being in contention for a spot on the U.S. under-23 team that will go to Beijing in a few months have made him rush a little bit to return.
"The last few weeks have been really frustrating for me," he said. "FC Dallas is my first priority but the Olympics are one of the biggest sporting events in the world and that's always in the back of your mind. There's nothing I can do to not think about that.
"At this point, it's probably about a month or month and a half away. It's a race to get fit and reach that peak fitness level. For the coaches to choose me, I can't be going in there at 80 or 90 percent. That was in the back of my head about whether I will be ready in time or not," McCarty continued. "I went through the setback, kept working hard and the trainers were great through this in not forcing me to do anything. I feel like I'm on the right track not just to help Dallas but also to possibly go to the Olympics."
While McCarty's rehabilitation has taken a bit longer than expected, the young midfielder has learned a valuable lesson from the entire experience.
"The reason for that is that the last time I had it done, it was during the offseason," McCarty said. "Getting a surgery done in the offseason (as in 2007), there was no pressure to come back and to rush things. With this surgery, since it's in the middle of the year, it was a pretty frustrating decision to make but I felt like it was a decision that I had to make. It's just been tough because I felt like I tried to get back into things a little bit too early.
"I tried to start doing things before I was ready but those are the little setbacks that you go through," he said. "I feel like this surgery has taught me that patience is the best way to go in terms of energy. I learned my lesson. I'm starting to get back into it and am feeling better. I'm looking forward to playing some more."
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