Reinforcements have finally arrived.
After missing nearly a month of action through injury, defender Ronald Zubar is set to return to the fray.
During Friday’s conference call with the media, head coach Jesse Marsch revealed not only that the Frenchman has recovered from the hamstring injury he suffered in New York’s 4-3 win over the Houston Dynamo on March 19, but the gaffer went so far as to name Zubar to his starting XI to face the Colorado Rapids at Dick’s Sporting Goods Park.
“He is going to start on Saturday,” Marsch stated. “He will be ready to go which is a good thing for us.
“Hopefully that will give us a good foundation of where we are in the center of the defense. This is a team that has been together, been through a lot of tough moments, so we’re counting on Ronald to come in and have a big game.”
It’s been a long time coming for Zubar, who has certainly had his struggles with injuries over the course of his tenure in New York. But with his team particularly thin at the back, his return to the lineup could not have come at a more opportune time.
“I’ve been working hard these last couple of weeks,” Zubar told NewYorkRedBulls.com. “I feel a lot better; I’m ready to go. It’s good because we need a defender and I’m just happy to get back on the field.”
As one of the more battle-tested defenders at his disposal, Marsch is desperate to keep Zubar on the pitch as his team looks to find ways to plug up what has been a leaky defense as of late.
Now, as he makes his way back onto the pitch, there is a sense of optimism that Zubar has turned a corner when it comes to his injury woes.
“What we are more hopeful more than ever is just that we can get over the hump with injuries,” Marsch added. “We’ve tried to monitor him carefully from training loads to gym work. We’ve tried to now set him up in a way so that when he steps on the field, he’s not risking himself.”
The road to recovery hasn’t been an easy one for Zubar, as the veteran has tirelessly worked to earn his place back amongst him teammates come matchday. Offering a different perspective as an outsider for the team’s recent poor run of form, Zubar is hopeful that he can bring some stability to the defensive core.
“It’s been really tough being on the outside just watching the team,” he admitted. “You can keep an eye on things and give advice, so that’s been my job that past few games.
“We’ve been unlucky a few games, but last game was a bit disappointing. Now we need to make sure we win our battles, keep things simple. If we win our battles in both boxes, we’ll have a chance to win the game. At times, we’ve looked a bit afraid to play, so we just need to be free and play; we have nothing to lose right now.”
With an eye on the future, Marsch knows that a healthy Zubar could be a key contributor for New York not only for their upcoming match with the Rapids, but for the remainder of the season.
“What’s most important for Ronald right now is can we get him to a healthy state of mind and state of being, and get him a run of games to get him to be sharp, game fit and the kind of player that we know he can be. We’re hopeful, more than anything, that we’re at a point where he can establish himself as a really important guy.”
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