When will Sporting KC get Pulido back? And Russell? Here’s a big-picture injury update

Sporting KC is fighting through a rash of injuries to start the 2023 season, leaving the lineup thin at each position. But that picture should start to resolve itself over the next few weeks.

Sporting has only a draw to show for its first two matches this year and hasn’t scored in 180 minutes of play. But club leadership is not overly concerned.

Yes, there are five players on the injury report. Yes, seven players who are expected to play big roles this year have played minimal minutes at best. But the outlook is different than what Sporting KC faced last year.

For starters, all but Kortne Ford will return at some point this season. Last year, Sporting KC went into the start of the season with all it could muster.

“The fact that we’re getting so many players (back) over the next two months, and they’re gonna be fully fit, is so much better than coming into the season and all of sudden finding out Gadi Kinda, who was supposed to come back in April, is not gonna come back the whole year,” Sporting KC manager Peter Vermes explained.

“We’re in a much different position in that regard, and the kind of quality that we’re adding into the team.”

The injury report heading into Saturday’s MLS home opener against the L.A. Galaxy is the same as it was for Sporting’s first match of the season, a 1-0 loss at Portland: Alan Pulido is listed as questionable, while Ford, Logan Ndenbe and Gadi Kinda are listed as out.

Vermes indicated that he expects all of his injured players, other than Ford, to be back in action within the next eight weeks. Let’s break it down, player by player.

Alan Pulido, forward: knee

Pulido should make the match-day roster very soon. He has been in full training with Sporting for nearly four months now and is regaining his fitness. Vermes has spoken very positively about his response to the workload he endured through rehab, too.

Pulido told The Star in a translated interview this week that he expects to be able to start in the next couple of weeks.

“I think we’re in the final stages, maybe two to three weeks out,” he said. “But I definitely think I’m really close to starting a game soon.”

Given Vermes’ typical level of caution with guys returning from injury, it’s a bit unclear when he’ll feel comfortable even using Pulido as an option off the bench.

Johnny Russell, forward: hamstring

Russell has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the team’s final preseason match. He has recently become more involved on the field again and is looking to get back into the swing of things in the next couple of weeks. He has still not entered a full training session.

Russell this week said his timeline is a couple more weeks.

Gadi Kinda, midfielder: knee

Kinda’s track in recovery is behind Pulido’s by a few weeks. He has yet to resume full practices but has been taking part in two of the team’s four phases of training. An April return for Kinda seems possible.

Tim Melia, goalkeeper: hamstring/match sharpness

A hamstring strain prematurely ended Melia’s 2022 season. And he experienced more hamstring issues during camp. While he’s not listed on the team’s latest injury report, caution is the watchword here, too.

Remember, after initially being hurt last July 9, Melia came back for a July 23 match only to re-injure the hammy after 53 minutes of play. Given that context, slow-playing Melia’s return this time around makes a lot of sense.

Tim Leibold, left back: match fitness

Leibold came to Sporting KC in need of proper match fitness. He was on the match-day roster for the first two games and has looked increasingly ready to start. It won’t be long until he’s a regular piece of the starting lineup.

Nemanja Radoja, central def. midfielder: match fitness

Radoja has not played meaningful minutes of soccer since spring camp and was not with a club for training of any kind from the end of the 2021-22 European season until joining Sporting KC for preseason. Like Melia, Radoja is healthy now but needs to work on his match fitness/sharpness.

For a position like the CDM — or “the six,” in Sporting KC’s system and parlance — match fitness is paramount. Radoja should be in the mix in the next week or two.

Logan Ndenbe, left back: hamstring

Ndenbe’s hamstring struggles seem to be more severe than Russell’s. When Vermes said the team would be getting many players back over the next eight weeks, it was clear he considers Ndenbe’s return to be among the last in line.

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