CARSON, Calif. -- Jose Villarreal has had enough with injuries, not that he thinks his absence from the LA Galaxy lineup constitutes any sort of crisis, and he's focused on returning from his latest ailment when the defending MLS Cup champions visit Columbus this weekend (7:30 pm ET, MLS LIVE).
Defender Robbie Rogers also is aiming to be available for head coach Bruce Arena after missing the past five games with an Achilles injury, welcome news for a side that has been hit hard by injury this year, especially at left back.
Villarreal, who missed last week's 1-0 loss to visiting Vancouver after suffering a sprained shoulder in the draw at New England the previous weekend, has trained fully this week and says he's hoping for some minutes.
“Obviously, the team doesn't rely too much on me, so [my return is] not a big deal, but I'll try to always help the team out in any way I can,” Villarreal said ahead of Saturday's clash with Crew SC. “I'm excited just to get back just for myself. It's frustrating with injuries that I've had this year, so I just want to get back to playing normally.”
Villarreal's assessment of his contribution doesn't match the reality. The Homegrown forward/midfielder was LA's top performer at the start of the season -- with a goal or assist in each of the first three matches -- before a hamstring injury sustained in training and aggravated in a US Under-23 national team appearance forced him to miss six of seven games in April and the first two weeks of May.
He was making his third start since returning when he was hurt on a London Woodberry tackle in a 2-2 draw with the Revs. He played on for another nine minutes, setting up a go-ahead goal by Gyasi Zardes with a backheel before departing.
“[The shoulder] is a little sore every now and then after training, but I keep on icing it and getting treatment, and the pain eases away, and then it comes back after every training,” Villarreal said. “I let [Arena] know that I didn't feel right to play at all [against Vancouver], so he said, 'OK, you won't play then.' For this week, I told him and ready to go, and hopefully I progress this week and get some minutes on Saturday.”
Rogers' absence was amplified by injuries to his backup, Todd Dunivant, and to A.J. DeLaGarza, an obvious choice at left back if the other two aren't available. The Galaxy have used midfielder Baggio Husidic in that spot three times and gave Oscar Sorto his first two MLS starts.
“I feel all right. I think this is something I'm just going to have to deal with all season,” said Rogers, who played an hour for LA Galaxy II, the club's reserve team, in a USL victory last weekend over the Orange County Blues. “I feel good, I feel better every day, getting sharper and feeling more comfortable, getting fit again. I think I'll be ready to play this weekend and go from there.”
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He said the condition arose just before the Galaxy's April 26 road game against the New York Red Bulls.
“It's just an overuse thing, they say. I'm not quite sure if they really know,” said Rogers, who altered his left shoe to accommodate the Achilles. “And I just played through it for about three weeks, and it just got worse and worse to the point I couldn't walk. It got really swollen. It's still inflamed, but it's a lot better than it was.”
Right back Dan Gargan, who missed last week's game with a groin injury suffered at New England, also could return for LA, which are without forwards Robbie Keane (Ireland) and Bradford Jamieson (US under-20s) and DeLaGarza (Guam), all away on international duty.
