FOXBOROUGH, Mass. – After playing 45 minutes in his 2015 debut against Columbus Crew SC last weekend, Jermaine Jones said postgame that he hoped to go the full 90 in the New England Revolution’s next match against the Philadelphia Union.
Jones has since pulled back slightly from that initial statement, but there’s little doubt that his aim is to start Sunday’s game at PPL Park and play at least some portion of the second half as he continues to increase his minutes following sports hernia surgery.
“We’ll train now the whole week and when the game is there, I hope that I can start and we’ll see how I feel,” Jones said. “If I feel good, I’ll try to play as long as possible.
“Every session in training brings me a step more in front. The games are important, too. Last week I played 45 minutes; maybe I’ll try to go the next game now a little bit longer. We’ll see. It’s step by step and we have to go easy, but it’ll come.”
Jones had been sidelined for two months prior to last weekend’s abbreviated appearance, and he knows that his recovery – both in terms of fitness and sharpness – is a process that will take time.
The pain he experienced on a daily basis for more than year prior to his surgery, though, is gone, making the extended recovery time more than worth the wait.
“I got a little bit sore after the game, but I think that’s normal if you don’t play for a long time,” Jones said. “It’s good. I don’t have pain. The pain that I had before, it’s not there. So I’m happy.”
While Jones missed the first five games of the season, there’s hope that Chris Tierney’s absence will be significantly shorter. The veteran defender missed last weekend’s draw with Columbus because of a sprained left ankle, but he hasn’t ruled out a return to the field this weekend at PPL Park.
“As pros, we hate missing games, so it was a really tough one for me to miss,” Tierney said. “I’m working as hard as I can to try to be back as soon as possible.”
“It was tough losing Chris,” said Jay Heaps. “But at the same time, I think it was the right move to shut him down and rest him and then have him ready for this weekend.”
