By BRIAN LEWIS
If Juan Carlos Osorio wasnât leaning toward giving returning Dane Richards significant minutes in Sundayâs game vs. Toronto, the speedy Jamaican planted the thought in his head as he kept planting the ball in the back of the net today in practice.
âNo pain, so I feel really good. Iâve felt good all week. It was a good week so far so if we keep going like that (Iâll play),ââ said Richards, who hoped the handful of goals he scored in training convinced Osorio to put him back on the field Sunday after missing a month with a hip flexor.
âHe was just telling me some joke today, because I finished off a couple of balls and he was like âOh, are you sending me a message?â I said âAre you GETTING the message?â And we just laughed. But Iâve seen improvement since Monday, so thatâs good.ââ
Osorio said he expects Richards to play, if not start.
âI think he will be part of it, but I donât think that he will start,ââ Osorio said. âAbsolutely itâs good to see. We now have more options. The last game was difficult for me to even name the subs. Hopefully thatâll be the case from now until the end of the season. Itâs very rewarding, very promising.
âHopefully thatâs a reflection of what weâre doing, players getting fitter, getting stronger, improving the level of play. Hopefully that all sums up into us having better chances to win as many football games as we can.ââ
Richards was expected to take 4-6 weeks to get fit after injuring his hip in the 2-2 tie with the L.A. Galaxy; but as he did in the preseason with his knee injury, heâs proven he heals the same way he runs: Quickly.
âI was away in Jamaica and all I do was rehab there. That helped. That helped a bit, so that was good,ââ Richards said. âMy rehab I always try to do my best and do a little extra because I want to get back on the field, so that helped, too. Maybe that contributed.ââ
Richards played as winger last season as a rookie, but with the Red Bulls starved for help up front, heâs gone back to striker, the position he played at Clemson. The Jamaican can provide the pace that the lineup has been lacking, and should open the field for Juan Pablo Angel and Jorge Rojas.
