Lessons from injuries and recovery

I have been injured before, and I rushed back. That is the lesson — when you rush an injury, you are not getting back to the game faster. You are setting up a long-term problem.

Right now I am recovering from an ankle sprain. I have done everything the right way: the recovery work, the patience, not pushing past what the ankle can handle. And because of that I came back sooner than I ever have from an injury.

I missed part of my first MLS Next season. That is not nothing. But the trade-off is that I am healthy now and I am building toward what actually matters.

Every recovery decision goes through one filter: does this help me be ready for France? If the answer is no, it does not happen.