This is an archived article that was published on sltrib.com in 2016, and information in the article may be outdated. It is provided only for personal research purposes and may not be reprinted.

As soon as they collided, Real Salt Lake midfielder Sunday Stephen knew his injury was bad.

"When I touched my face, I know something was wrong," the man his teammates call Sunny said this week.

The 27-year-old's promising first season in Major League Soccer was interrupted on June 22 when he fractured the orbital bone in his face after colliding with New York goalie Luis Robles. Nearly two months later, Sunny wasn't thinking about the physical pain he suffered that day.

The most painful part of his injury?

"Missing my mates on the pitch," he said.

Now, Sunny is on the verge of rejoining his teammates in RSL's game-day rosters. The midfielder trained fully with RSL this week and was slated to see his first game action since the injury with the Real Monarchs.

"He's getting really close," RSL coach Jeff Cassar said. "He's starting to get those competitive juices back. We're going to send him with the Monarchs this weekend to get him up to game fitness, game speed. And then, after this game, he'll really have a clear path to rejoining the group again and also feeling confident. I'm excited for him."

Sunny says he's pain free and is ready to contribute.

"Of course, I'm ready if the opportunity is given," he said. "I would like to help my team and fight to get back into the team."

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Center back Aaron Maund remains out indefinitely with a broken toe, an injury he suffered during practice on Aug. 10.

"He's still getting opinions on what to do because there's a route where you can do surgery and theres a route where you don't do surgery," Cassar said. "Ultimately that's going to be his decisions, but we're going to give him all the information to make the best decision for him."

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Jordan Allen, who has been dealing with a hamstring injury since the Homegrown all-star game in late July, trained fully and should be available for selection Friday.

– Aaron Falk