Minnesota United returned to practice at the National Sports Center on Monday after a five-day break, and that time away did the squad some good.
"Most of the guys have been running on empty. Most of us have had five, six games in 20 days," coach Adrian Heath said of speaking to other coaches around the league and seeing how everyone was similarly run down. "So it's been really tough on the players, and I just think sometimes, it's not even a physical thing. A mental thing of getting away form the facility, getting away from each other for three, four days is huge. They managed to do that, and it was a good, hearty banter in the dressing room this morning. So I think it's done everybody good physically and mentally."
There were a few absences Monday (midfielders Kevin Molino and Ish Jome, defender Brent Kallman and goalkeeper John Alvbage) because of injury and just different schedules for return from the break. Forward Abu Danladi and left-back Marc Burch trained separately on the sideline.
Heath said both Kallman, who has an MCL sprain, and Danladi, who left last week's match early with an injury, are "day-to-day," but the goal is to have them fit by the return to league action July 19 against the Houston Dynamo.
Burch, who had bilateral sports hernia surgery June 20, is doing "fantastically well" with his recovery, Heath said.
"We're really pleased with his progress," Heath said. "And we're hoping to get him back earlier than we thought, which is a big positive."
Burch was initally supposed to be out through mid-August or mid-September.
Heath also said he has heard from the Costa Rican national team about midfielder Johan Venegas, who went off about 30 minutes into Costa Rica's first CONCACAF Gold Cup match with an apparent knee injury. From what Heath's heard, it isn't a serious injury.
